Thank goodness.

This time wasn't as bad as the last two times. Last time, I took a lightning bolt to the head. Before that was when I lost my left leg.

But today, somehow I knew I didn't lose a night because I was unconscious.

"…never seen it this bad before." It was my dad.

"Well, whatever it was, it certainly left a mark on Hiccup." That was Gobber.

And I heard what sounded like the bellows in the armory nearby. That was Toothless, I was sure of it. Toothless gave a low rumble, and I heard Gobber say, "Wh-what is Hiccup's dragon doing?"

Without hesitation, my dad replied, "Staying close to Hiccup. He's not leaving Toothless's side anytime soon."

Toothless began inspecting my back, which I guessed was bare. I found out for sure when I felt his tongue swipe across the open gash the Whispering Death had left behind. I moaned in pain slightly. But Toothless didn't seem to hear me. He continued working at my back for a little while. And the pain never went away.

Why isn't it working? I wondered. Toothless could do anything. He miraculously healed my hands when I was making the connecting wire between his tail fin and his saddle. Why couldn't he do the same thing for my back? Every time his tongue touched my back, I winced slightly. Every time, I groaned in pain, letting him know he just wasn't doing the trick.

Toothless stopped with my back. He had gotten into such a rhythm that I winced in anticipation, but the pain never happened. I heard him pad a few feet closer to my face. He moaned softly in worry and then nudged the back of my head with his snout. He gave a short whuff, blowing my hair slightly.

I slowly turned my head and saw two yellow-green eyes staring at me. Toothless's pupils were wide, and I could tell within two seconds he was concerned about me. Unlike the Whispering Death. His mouth pulled into a slight grin, and he rumbled softly, trying to get me to relax.

"Hey, bud," I said, wincing from the effort of talking. I tried to move my left arm, but my back seized, keeping it close to my side.

"How did you help Toothless get over this so quickly, Hiccup?" my dad asked.

"Gave him lotsa water," I whispered, the pain still shooting through my back and neck. Although, it probably wasn't just the gash. I'd have bet part of it was from being so tense.

"Well, that's just great," Gobber said sarcastically. "You need to drink something, but can't lift your head or roll to your side."

"Ironic, isn't it?" I said, trying for a bit of humor. Nobody laughed.

Toothless moaned softly again, looking directly into my eyes. Like he was telling me to miraculously heal my back. He sighed. He was probably stressed because it seemed like there was nothing he could do to make it all better.

"Oh no, not this again," my dad said.

"Hm?" I asked.

"Your dragon worries me when he does this," my dad said. "He didn't leave your side when you lost your leg or when you were hit by lightning. I thought he was going to starve because he wouldn't eat until you woke up."

I grinned slightly at Toothless. He grinned back, flashing about half of a "toothless" grin. I loved it when he smiled at me, even if it was out of pity or just because I smiled at him. Just like when he looked me in the eyes a few seconds ago, it made me feel warm inside. For a few seconds, the pain disappeared because of one of Toothless's little quirks. It might not have been a miracle, like I was hoping for, but I at least felt a little better for now. I paused, letting the moment hang.

After a silence, Gobber said, "I think I'll turn in for the evening." And he clomped down the stairs. Wait for it, I thought. Right about…

There was a sharp pop, meaning Gobber had used the fifth step. I grinned again at Toothless, laughing on the inside. He grinned back at me with a low rumble. Gobber sighed in frustration as I heard the door open then close.

All of a sudden, Toothless moved away from me with a grunt. I was about to ask why when his rock was set down a few feet from my bed. My dad was moving it so that I could see him. So that he could watch over me.

I sighed. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Son." He walked down the stairs, avoiding the fifth step along the way.

Toothless licked my back a few more times, stirring up pain again. He looked at me with a concerned rumble, then padded over to his rock. I watched as he charred it, turning in a circle as he let the flame guide his feet. He tromped on the surface a few times. And curled up, looking at me. I listened to him breathing, sounding like the bellows in the armory. And grinned again. He raised his head in interest and grinned back at me. Just like Toothless. It felt like he was back to normal, like he wanted to be around me again. I sighed in contentment as I slowly fell asleep.

I awoke to Toothless massaging my back again with his tongue. But today felt different. Like there was less pain. Like the poison from the spike was starting to wear off. I took a deep breath and felt no strain on my back. The gash was just a dull fire now. Always there, but never aggravating.

"Hey, bud," I said quietly. Toothless pulled away from my back and looked at me with those deep, round eyes. He grunted, which I took to mean he was asking me if I was better today.

I moved my left arm experimentally, taking it slow just in case something painful happened. Reached out and held my hand up for Toothless. He muzzled into my palm, just like on that very first evening about a year ago. And just like then, I felt the magic in the moment. I hoped it would never get old. Toothless backed away with a low rumble a few seconds later, staring at me. He looked like he was encouraging me this time.

Somehow, I found my way to a crawling position, a dull fire shooting through my hips and left knee. Well, I couldn't do anything about the knee because it was resting directly on that stump. My hips? Probably just sore from not moving at all. I twisted my back slightly, trying to figure out my range of motion. Nothing flared up, just a dull sizzle the entire time. Hopefully, it would be gone for good by tomorrow.

I sat down on the side of my bed, facing Toothless. Looked at him and smiled, feeling the triumph of the moment. He grinned back at me with a grunt.

I grabbed my peg and fastened it to my left leg. And cautiously stood, feeling soreness in my left knee, hips, shoulders and feet. And neck. And a dull pain in my back that just never went away. I hobbled to my cache of clothing and put on a shirt and new leather vest. I had several of each, so an outfit gone recently wasn't going to hurt anything. Besides, it was all in a day's work for a Viking. Most importantly, the fire in my back never got worse once the fabric hit the gash. Maybe I could visit the Academy today.

I turned around and walked to the bath area. Washed my face off and looked at my reflection, complete with a shock of mouse-brown hair and a bony build. And I noticed a ridiculous amount of dust floating around in the basin. I sighed, knowing that keeping clean was on my to-do list for today.

All right, let's try this, I thought. "C'mon buddy," I said, turning toward Toothless. "How 'bout a flight?"

Toothless might not have understood all of the English language, but he certainly recognized certain words. Like "plasma blast," or "fish," or "Astrid." And especially "fly." He immediately perked and bounced in my direction, making a hollow ka-thump sound every time his feet hit the floor. For some reason, I took notice of everything he did. Like something in my mind had awakened after he tried to fight the Whispering Death on his own. Toothless sat on all fours a few feet away from me, wriggling with excitement, licking his lips in anticipation of another exhilarating flight. And then breakfast. Sounded like a perfect start to the day in my opinion.

We walked down the stairs. Toothless jumped from the sixth step to the ground level, while I stepped on the right edge of that stupid fifth step. It gave a long, high-pitched creak, but nothing startling. I had found out about that trick several years ago. And I was the only one who knew about it.

Toothless and I walked outside, and I slowly climbed onto his back, not wanting to rekindle the pain I had to suffer through yesterday. I patted the top of his head after clicking my peg in and said, "Let's go, bud."

He gave a short, excited roar and took off. After a few wing beats, I closed my eyes and tried to feel what Toothless was doing. I adjusted the stirrup according to what I felt, not what I saw. We had tried this several times. Some attempts were good, others not so much. But we were getting better at it. Today, however, was incredible. Toothless never balked or roared to let me know something bad was gonna happen. Just like inside our house, I was uncannily attentive to what he was doing. Not just in sight, but feeling as well. I smiled as I rolled my peg to match his movements without looking to see where we were going. I just hoped the rest of the day was going to match this morning.

I felt Toothless preparing to land, so I opened my eyes and found the great hall staring at me. It was our little routine in the mornings. Toothless and I went for a flight, and then we ate breakfast. Without fail. I walked through the double doors to the great hall, followed by a hungry Night Fury without a second thought. Astrid saw me from one of the tables and waved me down. I joined her. She had a salmon at the ready for me, and there was an open basket of fish waiting for Toothless. He bounded over to the basket in excitement and stuck his head inside. Pulled back out with a fish in his mouth. And swallowed. I sighed in comfort. Toothless really was back to normal.

"You look better today, Hiccup," Astrid observed. I didn't want to say anything to ruin the moment, so I just nodded and started on my breakfast.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" I asked as I neared finishing breakfast. Toothless was already done and staring at me.

"They're out fixing what the Whispering Death did here. Plugging the holes with rocks, I think. And Snotlout was muttering about how he needed to find Hookfang an archenemy. He thought it was 'cool' that Toothless has one." I rolled my eyes in disgust and took a breath, ready to say something witty when Astrid held up her hand to cut me off and said, "Wait, it gets better. Snotlout was bragging this morning about how he was your archenemy and how Hookfang was a fighter and could annihilate anything, unlike Toothless."

"Did you believe him?" I asked half-sarcastically.

She grinned and said with an obvious tone, "What do you think?"

"So, I get three guesses, and the first two don't count, right?" I said, playing with the moment.

"Nah, I don't think you need that. After he said the word 'annihilate,' Hookfang blasted his helmet off."

"Just. Like. Normal," I said. Thought for a minute and asked, "Have you heard anything about Barf and Belch?"

"Yeah, the twins' dragon is fine. We wrapped its leg yesterday after we got back. He didn't have any broken bones, just several gashes."

"D'you find it weird calling Barf and Belch one dragon?" I asked randomly.

She shrugged. "Not really. I bet you'd get a different answer if you asked Ruffnut and Tuffnut that question." I grinned.

Astrid stood up and took our dishes (including Toothless's basket) to the back for cleaning. She caught up with me as I had my hand resting on the back of Toothless's neck, guiding him toward the doors leading into the great hall.

Everything felt more vibrant today, maybe because I was happy Toothless was his usual self again. I had to do something crazy to convince him I was always going to keep watch over him, but he got the message. And I felt comfortable knowing he was going to do the same for me.

Astrid got Stormfly out of her shelter and rejoined us. For whatever reason, I felt like walking today, so I soaked up the vista as we made our way toward the Academy. I had no plans for the day, and that was perfectly fine with me. We could figure something out. And if not, we could always spend the day with our dragons.