Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Chapter One

A/N: Christmas (or Snoggletog) is a difficult time of year for some people and while it is a time to celebrate and be with family, it's very hard on those with no family, few resources, no home or who associate the time of year with loss. Sometimes, comfort can come from unexpected sources. Merry Christmas!

One.

He thought he was immune to the icy chill, had become used to the bitter freezing weather that constituted the northern town of Berk's normal winter weather but as he sat in his normal place, huddled as much as he could, he realised he was probably going to freeze to death if he stayed. The cold had spread into his very bones and his body was growing heavy, his head muzzy. Basic training had taught him the symptoms of hypothermia and he knew that if he did nothing he would die.

And perhaps it would be for the best.

As he moved, pain lanced up from his stump, the prosthetic pressing painfully against the tender skin, supersensitive in the subzero temperatures. He hissed, his shoulders hunching at the surge of pain and he gritted his teeth. It had been a long time since the prosthetic was fitted and he guessed he should have gone back for revisions but when he had arrived home and found the disaster that had befallen him, he hadn't the impetus or the will to bother any more. Everything was gone and his life had spiralled downwards from there.

But he hadn't lain down and died. Every time something had stopped him giving up-probably his innate stubbornness. He had made his choices and some of this was a consequence of this-though fate had decreed he was never given a chance to make amends with those he had left behind. His family was gone and his friends...he shuddered. He doubted they even knew he was alive now. No-he had nothing and no one...except Toothless.

He glanced down at the shape curled against him under the edge of the blanket. He knew he was a pretty unappetising sight, curled up wrapped in a ragged blanket and a folded cardboard box, his denim jacket over a filthy hoodie that was over a discarded sweater. His jeans were ragged and going into holes and a heavy boot covered his right foot. Strips of rag were wrapped around his hands as he pulled the blanket tight. He knew there were ice crystals in his scruffy beard and the tip of his nose was freezing, so he pulled up the scarf he had found in the trash a week earlier over his lower face, leaving only the upper part visible with his bright green eyes and some scruffy dark auburn hair poking wildly out from under the peak of his battered Berk Vikings Baseball cap.

Toothless pressed more firmly against him. The black dog was young, very thin and definitely a mixture of various breeds. His big green eyes were intelligent and he was devoted to the man who had pulled the small puppy from the trash, feeding him at the expense of his own hunger and earning a loyal companion and friend-his only friend in the world.

Slowly, he levered himself up, hissing as he put weight through his leg. It was stabbing again and he grimaced as he shuffled another step. Toothless looked up, his ears pricked and he whined.

"I know, bud," he murmured, his voice thick and hoarse from disuse. He didn't speak much now because he only had Toothless to speak to and then he coughed. For a few moments, he struggled with the spasm, grimacing and fighting for breath before he straightened up. "If we stay here, we'll end up as popsicles. Time to see if any of the shelters will take us."

The dog scrambled up and shook himself, limping. He had been kicked recently by a drunk as the pair had quietly sat huddled in an alley behind 'the Edge' Bar and his owner suspected the dog had a cracked bone in his leg-but he had no resources to get the dog treated. so they were a matching pair, limping along, wrapped in a ragged blanket and seeking shelter.

As they made it out onto the street, it began to snow, icy flakes blowing into the man's eyes. He blinked and sighed, his eyes scanning the impressive illuminations arching across the street as they headed up towards the town plaza.