DRAGONHEART

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Trailed

At first, Hiccup had thought that Mistwing and Attor had been exaggerating that ground-hunting would be safer than sky-hunting. But now, standing in the middle of something just short of a full-blown blizzard, he knew the skies would be far too risky to fly in. Snow whirled by so thickly it was almost blinding. He could make out a distant patch of sunlight among the thick ceiling of gray clouds overhead.

Hiccup was clutching his make-shift spear in his hand, the weapon's first test drive. He hoped it wouldn't break. "Do you guys always hunt in weather like this?" he shouted over the wind.

::Not usually:: Mistwing replied. ::It should die down in a few minutes, don't worry. Humans can't see as well as dragons, can they?::

"I guess so," Hiccup shrugged. "Maybe things will start changing now that I'm a Dragonheart."

::Your guess is as good as mine:: Toothless said, the frustration in his voice surprising even himself. He wished he knew exactly what to expect for Hiccup, what would happen to his rider. He wished he knew what the next steps would be for them as they adjusted to being Dragonhearts, but he knew this wasn't going to be easy for either of them when he made the decision - had that really been only six or seven weeks ago? It felt like a lifetime.

He had known they were going into unknown territory, though. It seemed like he and Hiccup were determined to always be the first of a new kind; first dragon and human to trust each other, first to fly together, first Dragonheart pair. If anything, unknown territory was their frustrating specialty.

Toothless flexed his shoulders, pushing those thoughts to the side. It had been a long time since he had truly hunted just for himself. ::So, what are we looking for?:: he asked. Sure enough, the howling wind had already died down.

::The bigger the game, the better:: Attor answered. ::Speaking of which...:: Attor lowered himself closer to the ground, his sharp ear plates narrowing. The other Night Furies followed his lead; Hiccup crouched, lowering his spear. ::Look at that:: Through the snow, Hiccup could see a large moose. It was very big, a bull, and obviously very old if the huge spiraling antlers on its head was anything to go by.

::Watch the antlers:: Mistwing warned. ::And the legs. But it'll make a very tasty meal::

"So we're going after it, then?" Hiccup said. Mistwing nodded her confirmation. "Alrighty then, this should be fun," the boy muttered under his breath. Attacking a huge moose was not his idea of a good time. With three Night Furies though, how hard could it be?

Cautiously, carefully, the small hunting party moved towards their prey. Hiccup tightened his grip on his spear as the Night Furies slunk forwards, their backs arched. It reminded Hiccup of cats in barns back on Berk, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting mouse. Luckily, the moose didn't seem to detect a thing; the terrible weather was working to their advantage. So far so good, anyway.

Toothless was closest to the moose, still going very slowly, and then silently, he pounded towards the moose as fast as he could. The animal let out a bleat of alarm, and went to run. Mistwing and Attor shot forwards, racing against time to cut the moose off from its possible paths of escapes. There was a stitch in Hiccup's side within a few seconds of trying to keep up with the dragons, but fortunately, the three dragons quickly had the moose cornered in their little circle.

The moose reared its legs, its attention focused primarily on Attor, who was slowly advancing on it. And then, Toothless pounced. His claws scraped down the animal's hide; the moose tumbled to the side, fighting tooth and nail. Toothless rolled with it, Hiccup watching on with worry. His own body felt more drained as the fight continued - as Toothless' energy left so did his - as Mistwing and Attor looked for an opening to go in for the kill.

::Be careful Toothless:: Mistwing said worriedly. The mess of limbs and antlers made it hard to make sure they weren't going to hurt Toothless instead; their claws and teeth were too big.

An idea popped into Hiccup's mind. He waded his way through the snow with difficulty, fueled by adrenaline. He had always had pretty good sense of aim, even if archery was considered unViking-like. Hiccup counted, looking for the opening as his dragon and the moose tumbled through the snow. "Hold him there Toothless!" he yelled. He knew his dragon had no idea whatsoever of what he was planning to do, but Toothless followed his instructions anyway.

Tingling with nervous energy, Hiccup threw the spear. Its aim was true, and it pierced the moose's side. It let out a wail of pain, and Toothless used the distraction to kick the moose off of him; he twisted his body and got back onto his feet, while Mistwing and Attor moved in. With a well-placed claw strike, the moose fell silent and moved no more.

Panting and refusing to look at the blood, Hiccup wrenched his spear out of the moose's side. He had never truly killed something before (obviously not a dragon) and wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. There was a strange sense of triumph, and he couldn't find any guilt: they hadn't killed the moose for the fun of it, after all. It had been necessary. Senseless killing was wrong, but animals ate other animals, that was the way the world worked.

::Thanks Hiccup:: Toothless said, padding up to his boy, sniffing him to inspect for any injuries. Likewise, Hiccup's eyes roved over Toothless' scales; luckily, his thick hide had kept him safe from sustaining any injuries from the moose.

"Well if you kick the bucket I won't stick around either, right?" Hiccup said. Toothless thwacked him in the back of his head with his tail. Mistwing gathered the carcass in her mouth, retracting her teeth so no more blood would spill from the animal. To keep the meat juicy, Hiccup guessed. "So, what do we do now?"

::We head back to the Pack and the one who conquered the moose stakes the claim as their own:: Mistwing explained.

::I think it should be Hiccup's claim:: Attor added quietly.

The boy's mouth hung open. "W-what?"

::It was your idea that allowed us to finish the moose off:: Attor continued, shifting uncomfortably on his paws. ::It is only right that you stake your claim of the kill:: Mistwing nodded, giving the Viking an encouraging gummy smile.

Hesitantly, Hiccup smiled back, looking to his dragon, with pride gleaming in Toothless' eyes. ::They are right:: he confirmed.

"All right then," Hiccup said finally, "I'll stake my claim over the kill."

Together, on Toothless' saddle (all that running had left him tired and drained) they headed back to the Pack. Mistwing led the way to the food storage area, and Hiccup took credit for the kill. The Night Furies that ran the kitchen were very surprised, if their wide eyes were anything to go on, but they didn't say anything against the claim.

It was with light hearts that they all then went to the cavern set aside for Hiccup and Toothless: progress was undoubtedly being made.

::The boy claimed a kill, Lunos::

The Alpha turned to see Ormr standing in the mouth of his private chambers. Lunascale was off attending business elsewhere in the caves. Lunos' eyes hardened. ::And your point is, father?::

::You cannot deny the boy has contributed. He is smart, skilled. A Dragonheart. He - he could be accepted:: Ormr said slowly. It had been a day since Hiccup had claimed the kill of the moose, and the word had spread like wildfire. The old dragon was nervous about broaching this topic; a human had never been a Pack member. Then again, a human had never been a Dragonheart either.

::Think about what you are saying, father:: Lunos said, giving Ormr a surprised look.

::I have:: Ormr replied. ::Quite a bit, actually. Son, you cannot deny that bringing the boy into the Pack would be beneficial. You cannot deny that the boy is more draconic than any human. Besides his lack of wings and scales, he is as much a dragon as any of us. He is a Dragonheart. His soul survived the process of bonding with a dragon's. He has a Dragonsoul::

Lunos' features softened. ::I - I will have to think on it, father::

Ormr nodded, a slight smile coming onto his face. ::That is all I have asked for:: And Ormr left the chambers, leaving the Alpha, for the first time in a very long time, feeling utterly conflicted.

He couldn't make the boy a member! It was ridiculous. And Lunascale would hate the idea, as would many of the other dragons... There was much to be gained, he did have to admit, but also much to be lost... too much...

Lunos let out a soft moan, feeling a headache coming on. He would worry about his decision tomorrow, after a good night's rest (if he could even get one now).

Hiccup was screaming. Toothless struggled to get to him - how did he get so far away? - but his limbs had turned to lead. Chains were holding him down. His body was on fire, his boy on fire, and then drowning. Hiccup was slowly floating down, and Toothless fought against his chains, but he couldn't break free. And Frostfang and the Red Death were laughing at him, and his brother's voice echoed around in his head, See how foolish it was for you to love a human? and Hiccup was out of view and he was all alone...

Toothless's eyes snapped open, quickly taking in his surroundings. He was in a cave. His brother was not here; neither was the Red Death. His limbs were not lead, there were no chains. Hiccup was okay, he could hear the boy's breathing, although it wasn't as deep and heavy as it was when the boy was asleep.

"Bud?" the teen mumbled. "You okay?"

A shiver ran through the dragon. ::I'm fine. It was just a nightmare, you can go back to sleep::

"You don't sound fine," Hiccup replied, the sleepiness from his voice fading. Damn his stubbornness issues, Toothless thought, sighing. He lifted his wings and shifted in his position so Hiccup could sit up comfortably. "Wanna talk about it?" Hiccup asked. "And that's not actually a question," he added before Toothless could protest.

::I thought I lost you, okay?:: Toothless snapped, much more harshly than he had intended. Hiccup didn't even flinch. The dragon sighed again. ::I just... Ever since we've been here I think about it all the time. So many of the dragons still hate us, and we don't know what this "great danger" Tiamat was talking about is and I just... I can't lose you. Not again::

"You're not going to," Hiccup promised. "I'm gonna be around to annoy you for a long, long time bud." Toothless almost smiled and Hiccup's joking smile faded. "Seriously Toothless, we're going to be fine. We've come this far, haven't we? Defeated huge dragons and plenty of enemies and we're still together, right? We'll be okay, I promise."

And somehow, Toothless found himself believing his rider. ::Okay:: the dragon said slowly, giving Hiccup his signature gummy grin. ::I don't think I'll have those nightmares anymore::

"Good," Hiccup said, smiling gently. "Night Toothy."

::Don't call me Toothy!:: Hiccup laughed loudly. ::And shut up or you'll wake everyone else up!::

"Alright, alright, I'll be quiet," Hiccup stifled his laughter. A fond look came across his face. "Good night Toothless."

Toothless let out a 'hmph.' ::Good night you useless human - hey, stop laughing!::

Can't believe this fic is almost a year old! Pretty crazy. I'll try to update before the 1 year anniversary (or on it). Thanks for sticking with me guys, and for all of your support. :)

The next chapter of Vǫrðr Inn Verǫld Svíða should be up sometime next weekend...? Very shortly, either way.

Love you guys. :D