Chapter 3

I stared up an obtrusive Toothless, his powerful and very naked thighs straddling my skinny waist. He was leering at me, the jagged ends of his hair cascading over his shoulders and tickling the tip of my nose. I blew the strands away, my mouth going slack as Toothless drew nearer. He still had that malevolent glower to his eyes, his mouth set into a pointed snarl. I could feel the powerful vibrations of his growls settle at the base of my belly. The vibrations slowly picked up in tandem and began literally thrumming through his body—it was equivalent to a cat purring, rather angrily might I add. When he began to lean in, I panicked.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" I hollered, shoving my hands at his chest. "Geez, Toothless, stop!" Toothless didn't even falter when I began pounding at his chest, my legs thrashing underneath him. I didn't know whether to be extremely angry or petrified, however both emotions were warring for dominance. I felt my chest constrict when Toothless lowered his head and nuzzled his nose into the nape of my neck.

Seconds passed into minutes, and it felt like those minutes had finally morphed into hours, but in reality it hadn't been that long. I felt him snarl against my neck, his breath fanning across my throat as if daring me to protest—I didn't this time. So we remained there, Toothless and I, the humanoid dragon fitted perfectly against the crook of my neck. He rubbed his cheek along my throat and breathed, warm tufts of air ghosting across my collarbone and flaming my cheeks red. I tried focusing on the muck plastered across my back, but I don't think that went over too well.

I was plucked from my musings when Toothless let a low croon coast from his throat, the vibration ricocheting off my chest. I licked my lips—why were they so dry?

"Toothless?" I breathed. He answered me with another low trilling sound and rubbed at the nape of my neck, the scales lining the sides of his face brushing across my throat. I let out a small gasp and hesitantly raised my hand, placing it on his bare shoulder. Toothless groaned pleasantly at the contact. However, when I tried moving my hand away, he growled, turning his head to nip gently at my fingers. I gulped. It was so weird being bitten by another person, despite that person sporting dragon characteristics.

I sighed. So he wanted me to pet him? With shame and a flushed face, I tepidly placed my hand on the top of his head and deftly moved my fingers. That same purring sound shook throughout his body, his chest practically thrumming with vibrations, actually it seemed that every place on his body trembled—until I remembered he was still naked, so I freaked out.

"Argh, Toothless please get off!" I pleaded at him. I removed my hand from his hair and barely missed another bite attempt. He withdrew from my throat and looked pointedly at me, irritation clearly evident across his face. I tried to push at him, but he was simply too sturdy—I was like a feather trapped underneath a brick. "Just get off, you useless thing!"

Toothless growled yet again, fingers clamping down at my sides. I couldn't help but wince as his clawed nails steadily pressed into my skin. Okay, this was probably as far as I was going to go—if Toothless wouldn't listen to me, then I was going to have to make him listen.

"Toothless," I called once again, my voice placid. I then quickly grabbed at his arms and dug my nails into his skin, biting my lip in guilt as I watched his eyes widen. He let out a sharp bark of pain, his horned ears momentarily twitching, but remained where he was. I realized with horror that he was growling at me now, saw-like teeth gnashing together. His eyes were dilated and narrowed, nostrils flaring along with each snarl, and I found myself completely land locked.

I immediately retracted my hands and placed my arms at my sides, staring up fearfully at the looming form of Toothless –a human form, I had to keep reminding myself! I tried to reason that this thing straddling me was still my best friend: my dragon, and he would never harm me unintentionally, however all that rationality went flying out the window when Toothless growled again, this time far more guttural than any of the rest.

"I'm sorry," I hastily blurted, shutting my eyes. I turned my face away and scowled when my cheek planted into the muddy sand. I took a breath. "I just want you off me, that's all. Just get off."

For a moment I thought he was going to lean down and gnaw at my throat, but I was surprised when Toothless relented with his growls and snarls and leaned away. He rolled off me and sat down on the sand a little ways away, crossing his legs and setting his hands in the swell of his lap. I could tell he was trying to avoid my gaze by staring off into the lake, his chin pointed away, and I frowned at the observation. I quickly sat myself up and raked my fingers over my saturated back, flaking away the caked on silt and brushing the remaining sand off on my tunic.

"Um, thank you, Toothless," I said sheepishly. I was trying my best to ease up the tension by adding in a faint chuckle, but Toothless was still facing away from me, eyes trained on a nearby boulder. He looked restless, from what I could see, lips taught and pulled into a thin line while his eyes quivered with some fleeting emotion. I couldn't make out what he was thinking and I was a bit afraid to try. There was a blooming well of guilt warping across my mind and I didn't like the aftertaste. But why should I feel guilty? He was the one who pushed me to the ground, he was the one growling and snarling at me like I was some unpleasant sliver of eel—he had even gone as far as to turn himself into a human, even though I was still lacking details of how the event even occurred in the first place. I let out a muffled growl of frustration and ran my fingers through my hair, digits catching in a few tangled strands. Sure, Toothless looked aggravated too, but I was even more so. I mean how can a dragon just up and turn human? There wasn't anything in the Dragon Manual about this, unless there was a trilogy set hidden somewhere in the Mess Hall, but I highly doubted it.

I was startled from my thoughts when I heard a halfhearted yip emanate from Toothless. It seemed that while I was musing to myself, Toothless had grown jaded and decided to stare at me again, and this time he wasn't glowering. His eyes were still marginally narrowed, but they looked more attentive and methodical than anything else. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either—he just looked a bit detached and aloof. I sagged my shoulders at the heart-wrenching display. I bit at my lip and mentally kicked myself, the guilt washing over me like a tremulous wave. That expression didn't belong there on his face, not on my Toothless who was usually so mischievous and hot-tempered and could easily be read like an open book. Toothless displayed his emotions like a window shop and I always marveled at how many emotions could play on such a reptilian face, especially one belonging to a dreaded Night Fury.

And now…I felt horrible. Perhaps I wasn't the only one perturbed. This situation, whatever it was, must be at least 10 times worse for him than it is to me. I didn't quite know how he got himself into this dilemma, but it must be harrowing for him—I wouldn't like it very much if I suddenly morphed into a dragon.

'And I practically pushed him away without explaining myself,' I thought sullenly, lifting my head to lock gazes with Toothless. He was regarding me with a quizzical eye, but his expression still looked remote. And then a thought hit me like a blow to the head with the back of an axe—I would never have acted so terrible towards Toothless before! I always welcomed every affectionate nuzzle and lick he gave me and I would often return those fond gestures with hugs of my own and an occasional serving of fish. Toothless was still Toothless after all, no matter if he looked like a man at the moment—he had no idea why I was acting so hostile towards him.

"Oh crap, he must think I'm the most horrible friend in the world," I hissed at myself, fingers mussing through my hair. I winced and settled my hands along the sand, craning my neck as I looked up at Toothless once again. He was still staring at me, the light of the moon illuminating half of his face as he settled himself against a nearby boulder. He bent his knees and draped the length of his arms across them, all the while scrutinizing me like I was a piece of spoilt fish. Watching him like that…I still couldn't wrap my brain around how human he looked. His posture and gestures, heck even the expressions on his face, they all looked too surreal. Not to say that Toothless didn't have expressions of his own as a dragon, because he did. I could always tell when he was angry or happy in an instant, but with human facial expressions, I could pinpoint exactly what he was thinking or feeling, or at least pretty darned close to it.

With a sigh, I quickly picked myself up from the ground and straightened myself, wiping off any mucky sand that had stuck to my leggings and tunic. Once done with that, I heaved in a deep breath and stared across at Toothless, bunching my hands into small fists. I gasped softly when I found that his eyes were practically smoldering. His posture was regal and I noticed that he seemed so still, so perfectly terse and silent—he looked intimidating. Despite how unapproachable he may have looked, I mustered the last shreds of my "Vikingness" and made to take a step forward.

He growled as soon as I moved.

I gulped and halted my movements, my prosthetic leg hovering above the ground and dangling in mid-air. I slowly dropped it and fiddled with my fingers as I shuffled my feet awkwardly within the sand; I lowered my head and flushed. It was a rather upsetting thought, but it felt exactly like those first few days when Toothless still regarded me as a stranger. After having progressed so far and bonding with him for the past year, it kind of hurt to know that the way he was acting right now ran along the lines of opposition—though I was one to talk. I was the first to show hostility towards him while he was in such a precarious state.

I didn't want to be a stranger again.

I peered up and across at him through the shadow of my bangs, my determination sinking when I found that he wasn't even looking at me anymore. His eyes were barbed elsewhere, I couldn't really tell where exactly, but it looked as if he were pointedly avoiding me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I straightened myself out once again and stared across at him without wavering in posture. If I was going to apologize, I had to do it right. Toothless paid no heed to my confession and didn't turn to look at me, like I thought he would; he didn't even seem to be listening. I felt jilted at that, but I didn't let it deter me from doing this correctly. "Toothless, bud?"

I felt invisible.

"Fine, if you won't look at me, could you please listen?" I asked softly. I made no move to walk towards him, afraid he'd growl at me again, and I wanted to respect his privacy. Maybe if I kept my distance and appreciated his need for space, this apology-thing would go over properly. I wanted to be as sincere as I possibly could, I wanted to be that one person he could confide in, no matter the consequence—I wanted to be his trusted best friend again. He couldn't confide in me if I was acting so selfish and ignorant.

"I'm sorry," I continued, my face flushing in shame. "I'm acting like a huge jerk." Toothless was still pointed away from me, but despite not having an audience, I pressed on. "I don't know how you got like this bud, and I know you're probably more scared than I am, but I just wanted to say that I'll help you—I'll be there for you. I won't question or pester you, I promise, but there's also another thing I'd like to address."

Toothless' left ear flickered.

I took a breath and continued on. "I don't want to say this, but I know if I don't try to explain it to you, we won't mesh well." I took a step forward despite the warning growl. I was closer to him now, but still a ways away. I shifted my weight off my prosthetic leg and wrung my hands.

"You're still you, you're still Toothless—my buddy, but there are some things you can't…you can't do around me, not while you're like this," I breathed, gesturing to all of him. Toothless was staring at me again, listening attentively. "You're a dragon and you still have dragon tendencies, but you…you can't do all that stuff looking like that. You can't, end of story."

Toothless snarled at me and flared his nostrils, tapping his sharp nails along his lap. I guessed he was probably asking for an explanation. "You can't hug me or lunge at me, or lick me or nuzzle me…you can't do any of that."

Toothless' eyes narrowed.

"Hey, hey! Don't get angry, I'm just telling you the truth," I blurted, throwing my hands out in front of me. "You're male, right? Yeah, you're definitely male, and men…they don't do that stuff to each other—at all. Really, Toothless- hey, are you even listening to me?"

I glowered across at Toothless, who was busy rolling a twig between his index finger and thumb. He flared his hand at me and rolled his eyes, as if waving me off, and I scowled. This was serious! If this topic weren't important I wouldn't have even bothered addressing it! I had to make this clear to him.

"Look, if this helps you in any way, I can always pet and scratch you in private or something, the usual stuff," I explained hastily, flushing. "We can still act the way that we usually do, but if you're still in this form within the week, then you're going to have to face the public sooner or later. We can't afford getting caught in risqué positions. If they saw you lick me or something…my dad—the rest of them…I don't know what they'd do to us."

Toothless was regarding me seriously now, the twig long forgotten beside him. He leaned forward, his knees pressed to his chest. It looked as if he finally understood the severity in my explanations.

"They'd hurt us Toothless, they'd hurt you," I concluded, hunching my shoulders. "There are certain things men can't do with other men, like licking and nuzzling and stuff. I just, I just don't want them to hurt you, bud. I don't. I really, really don't."

I closed the rest of the distance between us, surprised he hadn't growled or snarled at me yet, and plopped myself to the ground in front of him. "If and when they see you like this, they'll probably cast you off as a devil or demon or something—imagine if they caught me doing the stuff we usually do together…we'll be dead. They won't see you as a dragon, but as another human male. They could kill you, or skin you, or eat you or something and I'm afraid that if- !"

Toothless pressed a clawed digit to my lips and immediately clammed up. He huffed haughtily, throwing a pointed look towards me before scooping me up and pressing me to him. He sniffed my hair once or twice and nuzzled his cheek against my own, before clicking softly and finally releasing me. I gaped at him, my hands pressed to my chest. It was still so weird being this affectionate with another male, even though I knew that these friendly gestures were nothing but platonic and came from a dragon no less—I guess I was just going to have to get used to it. I wasn't going to deprive him of his usual playful dragon mannerisms just because he wasn't exactly a dragon per se, we'd just have to be careful.

"We can't let anybody see you yet," I said. I raised my hand and hesitantly patted him on the head. Toothless purred and nuzzled into my hand and I tried to shrug the shivers away. "No, we definitely can't, not until we find out what happened to you. I nearly died before my dad finally trusted me enough to settle with you guys, imagine what'd I have to do to convince him that you're not some kind of devil incarnate."

I smiled at him and stood up, one hand resting on my hip. We were in a dilemma, Toothless and I, and I wasn't going to just let him deal with it himself—he was my buddy, my best friend, that's usually what best friends do right? I wasn't so selfish and heartless as to abandon my best bud in a time of need, no, not when it was this serious. Toothless piqued his head and stared up at me, silently watching me as I shuffled through the sand. I was pacing back and forth, hands pressed to my back as I willed my mind to focus on the necessities. Okay, for one, Toothless was a human—I think we've pretty much got that settled, and two, I still have absolutely no idea how he ended up this way. And to top it all off, I didn't know what I was going to do with him until we figured out how and why he even ended up like this in the first place.

"Toothless," I called, turning to him. I saw his ears perk at my voice, regarding me with consideration. I smiled at him once more. "Alright, we've already established that you can understand me, but…can you speak?"

Toothless let a soft growl escape his throat and turned his head away in either frustration or anger, I guessed it was probably a jumbled combination of the two. I slouched my shoulders and kicked at the sand with the metal point of my prosthetic leg.

"Okaaay, I guess that's a no," I muttered, biting at my lip. "So I won't be hearing an explanation from you anytime soon?" Toothless growled once more, baring the jagged ends of his teeth. He looked up at me in irritation, rolling his eyes and flapping the points of his horned ears. I grinned toothily and paced over to him, pressing my back against the boulder he was propped against. I rapped my knuckles along the surface of the boulder and pivoted my head. "Heh, it's okay, at least you can understand right? That's very important."

"And I hope you can understand…" I started, averting my gaze. "…that we really need to get you a set of clothes."

A/N: Thanks for reading! I totally lost my train of thought with this story, so I'm just going to leave it here to rot. Leave a review pleeeeease. :D