Dragon Whisperer (HTTYD)

2 - Island Hopping

Toothless would be the first to admit he's done some strange things in life. Hit a rock with his head out of sheer boredomuntil one of them splits in two. Take a free-falling dive into a dense forest from high altitude. Lose a tailfin, then learn to fly again with the aid of his rider. Kill a mind-controlling demonic queen by blowing her up from the inside out. Tip over a yak because he didn't like the way it looked at him. Things that would make land-striders and dragons alike do a double-take.

This, however, was one of the strangest things he never thought he'd ever do. Pressed against his own black scales was the hand of a strange land-strider. The so-called Dragon Whisperer. A while back, the dragon's rider had done this very same thing back before he was a rider. This time, though, with the Dragon Whisperer, was so much different. He can actually hear dragons! No other land-strider can do that. Well, technically, one other can, but she's old and ornery and keeps to herself.

The Dragon Whisperer didn't look noteworthy. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale flesh, the usual slabs of dead hide to provide some protection. He was actually fairly short for a land-strider, but his posture, the way he held himself even with the injured leg, portrayed one who is confident in his own abilities. Each motions he made had a certain snap to it, like when the riders are all trying to impress each other, but it was just natural for this little critter.

As hard as it is to earn the dragon's trust, Toothless' especially, he had to admit he deserved some attention and respect. Earlier tonight, Toothless' rider was threatened. His blood boiled and his vision turned red as rage took over. He knew there were far too many to hostiles to expect to survive this encounter, but that did not matter. The leader of these interlopers was about to attack his beloved rider! However, even in his seething rage, he saw the Dragon Whisperer, shiny claw exposed, and could tell he intended to intervene on the rider's behalf. It all turned out to be a false alarm, but it was enough to give the dragon pause so he could beat down the rage and think clearly, like his rider always would. The Dragon Whisperer unwittingly averted the likely death of both dragon and rider.

For a while, Toothless had been darting around the invaders, snapping twigs and trying to draw them away from each other. They always moved in pairs, but he was hoping to put enough space between his rider and any reinforcements that he could mount a rescue. They were too smart to fall for such a ploy, though. It was back to deciding whether to rush in and die or wait and see what happens. Rushing in wasn't really an option. Toothless knew that if he was overwhelmed, his rider wouldn't run, but stand and fight to the death to protect his dragon. Such was the insanity of their devotion towards each other.

This is why Toothless always lets his rider come up with the brilliant ideas.

So, That wasn't an option, so Toothless resorted to separating the Dragon Whisperer from all the others. At first, it was just curiosity. If one is to go mad with worry for his rider, why not investigate some strange anomaly in the meantime? Such a task proved easier than anticipated as this land-strider also wanted this meeting to happen.

Initially the Dragon Whisperer simply let out a torrent of impressions in a haphazard mess, expressing how grateful he feels to be trusted by a dragon and how he only wants to help and he's not one of those interloping land-striders out there and he can help save the dragon's rider and he'll make fish rain from the sky and...

Toothless twitched the sensor lobes around the base of his head to keep an eye on his rider. Land-striders always assume these to be ear fins, but each sensor lobe is actually a tightly corded web of nerves encased in scale and hide. Guided by a lifetime of experience, he settled in on the optimal positions to hear the projections of his rider and all the other land-striders in this forest. Even when they're not thinking with their lips, they're always projecting some sort of passive hum. Not only can these sensor lobes attenuate to pick up the faintest whispers from much farther away than most other dragons, but they also allow him to perceive distance and direction of the projection's source. Such a unique trait that augments his night vision is what makes him the true master of the night.