The Perfect Gift for Snoggletog

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this

It was a chilly winter's eve and all through the island of Berk, not a creature was stirring, except for Toothless the Night Fury. The sky was pitch black with stars that sparkled like diamonds in the cold night, the island was blanketed with two feet of heavy white snow, the streams and ponds and even most of the ocean was frozen in ice, and the gentle winds felt like ice to the touch.

But none of that was of any importance to the people of Berk or their dragons, for it was the night before Snoggletog, the Vikings' annual wintertime holiday. It was a time of joy, remembrance, thankfulness for the year's blessings and hope for the next year, and giving gifts of love to family and friends. And it certainly showed when one looked at the island of Berk. Every house and dragon's nest was brightly decorated, a fine banquet of succulent dishes and delicious pastries had been prepared, helmets had been placed by the fireplaces to await for Odin's presents he would bring and everyone and their dragons were snug in their beds dreaming of what wonders and joys awaited them, come Snoggletog Morn.

While each and every Snoggletog was special, this year was particularly special to Toothless, the Night Fury companion to Chieftess Lenora Horrendous Haddock the Third. Just over a year ago, Toothless and Lenora had had the adventure of a lifetime when they were nearly torn apart forever by dark forces only to reunite and return victorious as they accepted leadership positions of their prospective races. Since then, the two of them had been a guiding light to their kinds and doing their best to ensure peace and prosperity for the two sides, especially during the holiday season.

Toothless remembered his first Snoggletog with Lenora all too well. She'd selflessly given him a special prosthetic that would enable Toothless to fly without Lenora's help. Toothless had been grateful for it at the time as it'd given him the chance to retrieve Lenora's heirloom helmet from the sea as a surprise, but in the end, he chose to fly with Lenora's help and that show of love had strengthened their bond together. In the years that followed, Toothless gained a love of gift-giving for his rider and he made it a point to find her something special to show her his love every Snoggletog.

Some years, with the aid of one of his dragon friends, he would barter fresh fish to the Smothering Smokebreath dragons in Breakneck Bog for a shiny trinket or bauble or a special piece of metal to help with Lenora's inventions. Other years, his gift would be a means of contributing to the Snoggletog festivities by catching the plumpest, juiciest fishes he could find with the aid of tidal-class dragons. Or with the help of the Terrible Terrors, Toothless would find just the right branch of delicious-smelling pine and shiny doodads to decorate Lenora's house with. Lenora loved every single gift Toothless ever gave her and she would respond in kind with better flying gear, dragonmint, or a shiny toy to play with. And her affection as well as everything she'd ever done for Toothless and his race warmed his heart and made him want to do better the following year.

At that moment, Toothless was not snuggled up asleep in Lenora's bedroom as he usually was at such a late hour. In fact, he was hiding out in a sea cave on the beach, which was dimly lit with a borrow Snoggletog lantern and the light of the full moon peering in through entrance. He was working tirelessly on his gift for Lenora. For months, he'd been practicing in secret and now he was ready to put his newfound skills to the test and make the perfect gift for his rider and sister.

"Alpha, what're you doing?" squeaked a voice.

Toothless, who was usually impossible to sneak up on, was so caught up in what he'd been doing that he was actually startled and nearly wrecked his gift in the process.

A low growl emitted from the Night Fury's throat as he turned and glared at the intruder. It was Nosy, one of Torch the Typhoomerang's hatchlings. He was quite young and the hatching's curious nature often got him into trouble, which had given him his name. Nosy looked up at Toothless with big, wide yellow eyes as he twitched his tail impatiently.

"Don't do that!" hissed Toothless. "And keep it down! Do you want to wake everyone up? And why're you here at this hour instead of with your father and nestmates?" Typhoomerangs were very protective of their younglings and rarely let them out of their sight, which made Nosy's presence in Toothless' hideout all the more miraculous.

Nosy's eyes were apologetic, yet the hatchling stood as tall as he could reach with some pride. "I didn't mean to intrude, Alpha, but I couldn't sleep, so I went looking for fun. I smelled your scent and followed you here. I'm sorry. What're you doing and can I watch?"

Realizing the little hatching didn't truly mean any harm and wouldn't leave without answers, Toothless sighed before picking up Nosy and placing him on a nearby rock so Nosy could have a better look.

There, sitting on the flat edge of some boulders were smears of paint that Toothless had made from berries, charcoal and leaves he'd crushed and on a spare canvas that he'd "borrowed" from Bucket was a painting of Toothless and Lenora's first flight together.

"You can stay and watch as long as you stay put and do as you're told. Understand?" When Nosy nodded, "This is for Lenora. It's what humans call a 'painting.' I made it myself."

Nosy looked amazed. "Wow. How did you make it? I've never seen any dragon make anything like it!"

"It wasn't easy," admitted Toothless. He hadn't started out as the best artist, even by dragon standards. He'd watched Lenora and Bucket draw and paint for ages before attempting it himself. Inwardly, Toothless winced as he thought of the countless failure paintings he'd made while trying to perfect his skill. He'd made his own paints and did his best to make the artwork with his slender claws and sharp sticks he would grip with his teeth. Toothless had come close to quitting once or twice, but his desire to give Lenora a meaningful present from his heart had been greater, so he'd kept at it, for which he was grateful. Even though the painting wasn't yet finished or at Lenora or Bucket's skill level, it was a far cry from the first doodle in the dirt that Toothless had made for Lenora when they'd first become friends that day in the cove and Toothless was pleased. "But it was worth it. Lenora will really like it."

Upon hearing Lenora's name mentioned for the second time, Nosy perked up. "Lenora? The nice lady in green who took care of my daddy when he was little? The one who's in charge of the humans here?"

Toothless nodded.

"It's pretty, but why not just give her a nice juicy eel or a fish? Wouldn't that be easier?" asked Nosy, curiously as he licked his lips.

"Perhaps, but I don't want to do 'easy.' I want to give Lenora something that's meaningful."

Not to mention, there was plenty of fish to go around and no one but Typhoomerangs even liked eels as they smelled foul and tasted gross and made other dragons sick.

"What does that mean? 'Meaningful'?"

"It means I want Lenora to have something that shows how much I love her," explained Toothless, as he carefully stuck one of his claws into the brown paint and began gently adding in Lenora's hair.

When Toothless had been trying to decide on Lenora's gift, he'd wanted it to be truly meaningful and decided that the best way to go about it was to give her a piece of artwork of his own making. He'd watched her draw and paint for quite a while now and knew how essential it was in her daily life for making building plans, invention schematics, and sketches of new discovered dragons for the Book and maps of new locations. And it was also one of her favorite pastimes, as was evident by the number of drawings of Toothless and the family she had in her notebook or hanging up in the house.

Nosy looked confused. "But doesn't she know that already?"

Everyone on Berk knew just how much Toothless and Lenora cared for one another. They were each other's first real friends and family in all but blood and they showed it every day.

Toothless bit back a sigh. How could he make Nosy understand? Yes, Lenora knew how much he cared and Toothless knew how much Lenora cared, but on Snoggletog, you were supposed to do more than just say it. You had to show it by means of a special present like Lenora had done for Toothless during their first Snoggletog all those years ago. And this year's holiday was especially important as it was Lenora's first one as a married woman and as Chieftess of Berk, and she'd also been quite sick in the mornings lately, which only further strengthened Toothless' resolve to make the perfect gift for Lenora. And while Toothless was grateful for all the help he'd had over the years in acquiring Lenora's gifts, he wanted to give her something that he'd managed to procure on his own to make it more special.

"It's something you'll understand when you're older," said Toothless, after a moment's consideration. "For now, why don't you get us something to eat from the storehouse? No eels!"

Nosy perked up considerably and quickly scrambled out of the cave to get a late-night snack for the both of them.

XXX

It was early morning but still quite dark by the time Toothless was finished.

When the paint was sufficiently dried, Toothess carefully placed the canvas on a blanket and gripped one end with his mouth. Wishing to help, Nosy gripped the other and slowly, but carefully, the two dragons left Toothless' hideout and began making their way back to the village. When they'd reached the Snoggletog tree, Toothless sent Nosy back to his nest to get some sleep before Torch and his mate noticed the hatchling's absence and burnt the village down looking for him. As Nosy was feeling sleepy, the hatchling agreed without the slightest protest.

After the hatchling left, Toothless gripped the blanket with his teeth and attempted to wrap up the gift all pretty like he'd seen Lenora and other humans do before he brought it into the house. Before he could do it, however, the winter wind blew and a lone feather right by Toothless' nose and he was suddenly overwhelmed by that unwanted, tickly sneezy feeling and then, rather unwillingly, Toothless let out a rather big sneeze which turned into a plasma blast that hit Bonehead, who'd fallen asleep in Gobber's forge. Now, Bonehead's armor kept him very well protected and he wasn't hurt, but it did wake him up just a little.

"Time to relight the forge already? Okay," murmured Bonehead, sleepily.

Much to Toothless' horror, before the Night Fury could stop him, Bonehead relit the forge with too much firepower and then chaos broke loose. The overloading of the forge caused an eardrum-splitting explosion, which caused everyone in Berk to wake up and emerge from their houses to see what was happening. The resulting explosion also caused small fires to erupt and while some were quickly put out with Berk's anti-fire station system, one of the flames landed on Toothless' painting.

Alarmed, Toothless quickly put out the fire, hoping it wasn't too late. But when he looked at the painting, his heart sank and he felt tears burn his eyes. The painting, which he'd worked so hard on for so long, was singed around the edges and there was a thin layer of soot as well. The damage wasn't that extensive but in the Night Fury's eyes, the painting was now beyond repair and the holiday ruined. What was he supposed to give Lenora now? How could he show her how much he cared without the perfect gift?

"Toothless?"

Toothless' head shot up and to his horror, Lenora was standing before him with concern and confusion etched on her face. No! She couldn't be there. She couldn't see this mess of a present!

"Toothless? Bud, are you okay?"

Unable to answer, Toothless grabbed the painting and took off as fast as his feet could carry him.

"Toothless, wait!" yelled Lenora.

Any other time, Toothless would've responded with a garble or a look over his shoulder or something of the like. But not now. He couldn't face her after this. Not after he'd just ruined Snoggletog.

XXX

After what seemed like hours, Toothless found himself at the cove where he used to live when he and Lenora were secret friends. After placing the painting on a dry rock, Toothless buried his face in his paws and began to cry into his claws.

Toothless' heart was broken. He hadn't felt that miserable since Lenora had sacrificed herself to save Aster last year. All that work, all his hopes to give his rider and sister the perfect Snoggletog gift which she deserved and just like that, it was gone. He failed. His gift was ruined as well as Snoggletog. It was Lenora's favorite holiday and now it'd been spoiled beyond repair. Toothless wouldn't be surprised if Lenora never forgave him for it.

What on earth was he going to do now? Eventually, Toothless knew, he would have to go back to Berk, he was the Alpha dragon after all. But it'd be a long time before that happened and even then, he could only imagine what the other dragons thought of him now. Toothless, the last of the Night Furies who'd taken down Drago's Bewilderbeast and the Red Death, running away from trouble like a frightened hatchling. He wouldn't be surprised if he'd lost everyone's respect. Well, he could live without it. But the disappointment in Lenora's eyes that was sure to come…that was much, much worse of a punishment than anything else.

What am I going to do? wondered Toothless. But no one answered him.

It wasn't long into Toothless' moping that he heard the sound of his name being called in the distance both in human and dragon tongue. A search party had sent out to look for him, but Toothless made no attempt to move as his limbs felt too heavy and nor did he speak as it seemed to require too much energy. Was it too much to hope for that he might not be found so soon? He didn't have the strength to face anyone yet.

Toothless' ears unconsciously perked up when Lenora's frantic voice was heard.

"Toothless! Toothless, where are you? Are you there? Toothless, please answer me!"

Once more, Toothless did not reply as he buried his head in his paws. He hoped Lenora would just give up and leave him be, but he knew she'd never do such a thing to her loved ones. Still, he could not bring himself to make even the slightest sound, wishing to put off the misery as long as he could.

Eventually, the sound of Lenora making her way down into the cove met Toothless' ears and he opened his eyes just as Lenora caught sight of him. She held a lantern in her hand and soft glow of the candle exposed the worry on her face, which was quickly replaced with relief as she spotted Toothless. Without hesitation, she ran to the Night Fury's side.

"Toothless, there you are. I've been looking all over for you," said Lenora, breathlessly. She looked concerned as she knelt down beside him. "I was worried sick when you ran off. Oh, Thor, you've been crying? What's wrong, bud? Are you ill? Did you get hurt?"

Toothless shook his head as he furiously wiped at the dried tear tracks on his face, trying to make them disappear. He wasn't ill and nor was he hurt, but that didn't mean he was happy.

"Then what's wrong, bud? You know you can tell me anything. Whatever it is, I won't be upset, I promise," said Lenora, her voice pleading. "Toothless, please, tell me."

Toothless sighed. He really didn't want to do this, but he'd been caught. So, what was the point in hiding? Might as well get it over and done with. Silently, Toothless pointed to his gift, which lay forsaken on a rock where he'd left it.

Frowning in confusion, Lenora rose up and walked over to the rock. She then picked up Toothless' gift and after brushing away the soot, examined the painting.

"Toothless, where on earth did this come from? Are those your claw marks? Wait…did…did you make this for me, bud?" asked Lenora, hesitantly.

Toothless nodded and braced himself for the polite but negative reaction he was sure to get.

"Oh, Toothless…it's beautiful!" exclaimed Lenora, happily.

Toothless' head shot up and his green eyes widened in shock. Beautiful? Had he really just heard that right? Surely, it was a mistake. The picture couldn't possibly be considered even remotely beautiful after what'd happened to it. But there was no mistaking the genuine happiness and love in Lenora's eyes as she held his gift in her hands.

"I didn't even know you could paint, you sly thing. You must've been working on it for ages. I love it, bud," said Lenora, her voice thick with emotion as happy tears slid down her cheeks. She carefully put it down on the rock again before giving Toothless a big, tight embrace and kissing his forehead. "Thank you so much."

In spite of his confusion, Toothless couldn't help but nuzzle Lenora and wrap his wings around her in response. He didn't understand why she didn't hate his gift, but nevertheless, he was grateful.

"But I don't understand," said Toothless, he pulled away. He tilted his head in puzzlement. "Why do you like it so much when it's ruined? It's not wrapped up and pretty like your gifts are. It's not perfect. It's burnt. It's—"

"Wonderful," interrupted Lenora, smiling as she stood up. "So, it's a little singed. So, what? It's absolutely perfect and I'm going to hang it somewhere special." Her brow wrinkled with concern again. "Is that why you ran off? Because you thought it wasn't perfect and I wouldn't like it? Did you think Snoggletog would be ruined or something?"

Toothless nodded as he hung his head again. "After everything you've done, everything that's happened and how sick you've been…I just wanted the perfect gift for you for the holiday."

"Oh, bud…" Lenora's face softened as she held Toothless' face in her hands. "You haven't ruined anything and nor could you ever do such a thing. And don't you understand? I already have the perfect Snoggletog gift right here, just as I always have."

Toothless still looked confused as Lenora began to lead Toothless out of the cove while she sang.

Lenora
Sure, it's nice to open a gift that's tied up with a perfect bow
But the great present of all was given to me long ago

Lenora smiled as she affectionately rubbed Toothless' behind his ears, making him purr as they walked towards the lights of lanterns and dragons' fire where the others awaited them. Lenora loved a brightly wrapped Snoggletog present as much as the next person, but in her heart, she knew she already had the best gift of all: Toothless. His brotherly love and unwavering loyalty and the time they'd spent together was worth more than gold.

It's something I would never trade, it's the family that we've made
Because when we're together, I have everything on my list
And when we're together, I have all I wished

As they continued to walk, Lenora thought back to the long-ago days before she'd met Toothless. Once, she'd been so lonely and desperate for the approval and acceptance of not only her father but everyone else on Berk. But after becoming friends with Toothless, she'd realized that the applause of many could not compare to the love and friendship of one. And as long as Lenora had Toothless by her side, she was one of the luckiest people in the world.

All around the Snoggletog tree, there'll be dreams coming true
But when we're together, then my favorite gift is you

Lenora stopped walking for a moment to give Toothless another affectionate hug. When he purred and looked at her with pure affection in his green eyes, she didn't need to speak dragonese to know that he was cheered up and was reciprocating her words and feelings. Afterwards, they resumed their walk and when they reached the others, Toothless was met with affectionate hugs and pats from Aster, Stoick, Valka, Gobber and others, as well as affectionate licks and looks of respect from the dragons. It was then that Toothless joined in with Lenora's song in his dragon tongue and although he sang quite poorly by human standards, no one said a word as they continued to smile and head back to Berk.

Lenora (Toothless)
I would travel miles and miles and I would follow any star
I'd go almost any place if it's any place you are
Because when we're together (When we're together)
I'll forever feel at home

Over the years, Lenora and Toothless' had had several adventures and their relationship had had its ups and downs. But no matter what happened to them or between them, they stuck together and never let anything or anyone come between them. They were more than dragon and rider, they were family and nothing would ever change that. They didn't need a present, perfect or otherwise to prove that.

And when we're together (When we're together)
We'll be safe and warm
Doesn't matter where we are if you're there with me
Because when we're together, that's my favorite place to be

The more they walked and sang, the happier Toothless became as he realized the truth in Lenora's words. The worldly gifts he and Lenora shared every year were wonderful, but those gifts paled in comparison to what they shared. When they were together, Toothless didn't think of himself as the last Night Fury, he just thought of himself as part of a family that loved him as much as he loved them. And it was because of that love that no matter where they were, whether it was on Berk or Dragon's Edge or somewhere else, it didn't matter because as long as Toothless and Lenora were together, they were home.

Lenora (Toothless
Because when we're together, it's a holiday every night
And when we're together, then the season's bright
I don't need a shining star (I don't need a shining star)
I'll know when it's here (I'll know when it's here)
Because when we're together, I could stay forever
And when we're together (it's my favorite time of year)
It's my favoritetime of year

When they reached Berk, everyone stopped as Lenora knelt down by the Snoggletog tree in the town center, which was lit with colored paper lanterns and she took out a hollow crystal star which held a small candle in the center. After taking out the candle, Lenora held it out for Toothless.

Toothless smiled his famous toothless smile before carefully lighting the candle. When it was lit, Lenora placed it in the star and a Terrible Terror took it before placing it on the tree, creating a beautiful glow in the village. As everyone gazed up in reverence and awe of the beautiful Snoggletog tree, Toothless purred while pressing his face into Lenora's side as she gently rubbed his chin.

Now, this was a perfect Snoggletog.

XXX

Later that day after everyone had a brief nap, the Snoggletog celebrations resumed.

It had been unanimously decided that Toothless' claw painting deserved a special place and as such, it had been hung next to Lenora's coming-of-age-portrait with her father alongside all the other paintings of Berk's leaders and their heirs. It was the talk of the town and everyone had admired it greatly, considering it an invaluable, irreplaceable treasure of Berk which would be beloved for generations to come. To say it made Toothless happy would be putting it mildly.

During the Snoggletog feast that evening as everyone chatted and laughed, the room suddenly became quiet as both Lenora and Aster stood up, which signaled that something important was about to be announced. Aster was looking at Lenora with immense pride and happiness as she smiled softly. It also puzzled Toothless. What could be so important that Lenora hadn't told the Night Fury first?

"Everyone, I have announcement to make," said Lenora. Her smile widened as she spoke. "Come next summer, the Haddock family will have a new addition." Lenora's hand gently cupped her stomach. "Just before the feast today, I found out that I'm with child."

Toothless let out a shocked but happy roar and within moments, the entire Great Hall exploded with cheers and roars of congratulations from the people of Berk and its dragons. Stoick laughed and hugged his daughter and son-in-law while Valka laughed and cried at the same time. And who could blame her? What glorious news! No wonder Lenora had been so ill in the mornings, she was going to have a baby. A baby! An heir to continue on Lenora's legacy! What could possibly be better news? What better gift could there be for Snoggletog?

"Toothless?"

Upon hearing his name, Toothless sat up straighter and looked at Lenora curiously.

"Bud, you've given me so much that I can never repay, but there's one more thing I need to ask of you," said Lenora. "I know this might sound a little crazy, but Aster and I have both agreed…how would you feel about being one of the baby's godfathers?"

Toothless' face lit up with unbridled delight as he eagerly nodded and then he proceeded to shower Lenora's face with dragon kisses before gently resting his head against Lenora's still-flat stomach. Lenora just laughed and kissed her fingertips before touching them to Toothless' head. He purred loudly as his enhanced dragon hearing picked up the faint but unmistakable sound of not one but two heartbeats from inside Lenora's stomach. There was no denying it. Come the next summer, there would be not one but two little younglings for Toothless to teach and protect as he'd done for Lenora, two new family members for him to love and fly with.

It was truly a Snoggletog miracle and one of the most perfect gifts he could have ever received.

The End

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everybody! —Brightfire15