We made our journey back to the island early the following morning, and it was fairly uneventful. As usual, the temperature seemed to drop incredibly low the second we passed through the mist surrounding the island and I still had no idea what it was or why it happened.
We set down relatively close to where we had left several days ago, and Toothless was eager to start looking for our new friend the moment we hopped off of him. Hiccup pulled out his map, pointing out the direction to where we'd left the Night Fury and we set foot immediately.
Toothless hurried his way through to the opening, crooning a hello which was met with a similar noise. I followed Hiccup into the area, eyes landing upon the dragon curled up near the base of a tree. She didn't snarl or anything this time, only stared intently at Hiccup and I as we entered.
"Okay, go on," Hiccup said, turning to me with an expectant expression. I paused, furrowing my eyebrows before glancing at the Night Fury watching us.
"Uh, what?" I said slowly.
"You wanted a Night Fury, there's your Night Fury. Go train her," Hiccup insisted, gesturing his hand towards the aforementioned dragon. I inhaled a bit, holding Hiccup's eyes for a moment.
"You're really gonna let me have her?" I asked quietly. He looked a bit confused before giving me a shrug.
"I can't have two dragons, and after all, you did find her. Go," he repeated in a gentle voice. I bit my lip, crossing my arms as I eyed Hiccup. He was staring at me, eyebrows raised ever so slightly in a way that told he was waiting for me to go and attempt to train the Night Fury. I glanced toward the two dragons, where Toothless was now tilting his head at the other before making a noise in his throat that sounded much like a question. I watched them interact for a couple seconds before turning my attention back to Hiccup with an elongated sigh.
"Okay, but problem is, I have no idea how to do that so why don't you start us off?" I asked, eyes hopeful. He ran his fingers through his hair for a moment, holding his hand at the base of his neck before exhaling lightly.
"I guess I could.. Hold on." He started over towards Toothless, distracting the pair as he detached a bag from Toothless' complicated saddle. He walked back over to me, holding it out and I realized it was a basket of some sort. I observed his offering before taking it gingerly, my eyes meeting his green ones before I raised an eyebrow in question.
"You and Toothless can go try and find some fish for her, it's like a peace offering. Dragons just appreciate free food," he added with a shrug of his shoulder and I laughed, nodding.
"Come on, Toothless," I called out to the dragon. He turned his head towards my voice before tilting his head, walking over to me regardless of his confusion.
"Don't get blasted or anything," I said to Hiccup as Toothless reached us.
"Why would that even happen?" he asked with a slight laugh.
"I don't know, you're annoying sometimes," I teased. He snorted lightly, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"Well, if I'm so annoying, why are you always with me then, huh? Do you not have anything better to do but hang out with your 'annoying' boyfriend?" he countered, a smirk ghosting on his lips. I bit back a laugh, nodding.
"That is exactly my problem. Except now I do have something to do, so goodbye," I said with an exaggerated wave, petting Toothless for a moment as a way to let him know we were going. He huffed before trailing after me, and we started off into the trees.
---
It was mindless wandering until we were able to find a beach, and Toothless rushed out into the water to begin trying to catch the fish. It was amusing, watching him stand guard and eye the water with such focus before diving his head under. The first few times he came up with nothing in his jaw and an annoyed expression on his face pulled a laugh out of me, so I strolled over to see if I could assist in any way. The basket left a trail of indentation in the sand as I made my way to Toothless, and I propped it up just before the area that held the breaking waves. He managed to catch one, and waltzed over to place it in the basket, repeating this process for the next several before he gave up and just ended up tossing them into the basket from where he was sitting in the water. Naturally, he missed the opening quite a few times and so I ended up chasing flying fish and putting them in the basket before he would catch another.
"Come on, Toothless, can't you at least aim near the basket?" I murmured, placing the one I'd just grabbed inside. Suddenly, I felt something smack against the side of my head and I saw a fish fall toward my feet out of the corner of my eye.
"Toothless!" I shouted incredulously, turning to look toward the dragon. He had a mischievous expression in his eyes before he dipped his head beneath the waves again and I only laughed in disbelief, wiping at the side of my head before I picked up the culprit fish, holding it and waiting for Toothless to resurface. The minute he did, I threw it as hard as I could and it bounced off of his shoulder, earning a playful growl from him and a victorious laugh from me.
"Okay, okay, serious time. We need fish for your friend," I called out in an attempt to halt any further fish-flinging, and he only huffed before continuing his job.
It wasn't long before we managed to nearly fill the basket to the top, and were hauling it back in the direction of the opening that the other two were at. Upon reaching it, I noticed a lack of other presences and paused, letting the basket tip to the floor as I tried to spot them.
"Where did they go?" I thought aloud just as I heard wings flapping above me, and stared in surprise as Hiccup flew down on the Night Fury.
"Hey, I've been looking for you guys," Hiccup said as he climbed off, and I only watched him with wide eyes.
"How in Odin's beard did you manage that so fast?" I exclaimed. He gave me a triumphant smile before shrugging.
"I dunno, maybe I'm a Night Fury goddess or something," he mocked. I scoffed, shaking my head as Toothless made his way over to the other dragon to start bothering her once more.
"Okay, well, she's warmed up to me now so it should be fairly easy for you at this point," Hiccup added, walking over to me while rubbing his hands together. I rolled my eyes, hugging my arms to my chest.
"Hiccup, I don't know how to do this, I don't know how to do any of this. I've never even flown on a dragon without someone else being the flyer," I reminded him exasperatedly. I didn't say it aloud, but I was obviously nervous about the whole thing and I figured he would've understood that by now.
"Oh come on, (Y/N), you've read the Book of Dragons cover to cover a thousand times already, you've managed to get Toothless to adore you.. Of course you can do this," Hiccup assured me. I sighed, shoulders slumping for a moment as I twiddled my fingers.
"Okay.. Okay. I'll try," I mumbled. He gave me a smile before pressing a light kiss to my lips.
"You'll be fine. Go on," he added, nudging me gently toward the Night Fury. I heard him call Toothless away as I exhaled sharply, starting to walk over to the other dragon. She just watched me, and I noticed the shade of her eyes were further blue than Toothless', but still an overall green.
I reached for the tipped over basket of fish from earlier, dragging it along with me as I neared her. She stared at it, before her eyes flickered back to mine with a slight hopeful expression. I laughed softly before nodding, pushing the basket over in front of her.
"They're for you," I insisted. She gave a weary look before moving forward to gently nudge at a fish that had slid out onto the floor. I sat down as she began to eat them, and just waited patiently. She stopped after a handful of fish, crooning softly at me with a nod before curling up on the grass in front of me, resting her head on her paws. I smiled, taking a breath as I wracked my brain for what to do next.
I stood up, and her eyes followed my movements until she decided to sit up straight, holding my gaze. I glanced behind me, hoping Hiccup would give me some sort of reassurance, but I couldn't see either him or his dragon. I sighed inwardly before turning back to the Night Fury, holding my hand out. She eyed it before looking back at me, and I took a small step forward, keeping my eyes on her. My heart was racing with each step closer I took, unsure of what the outcome would be, hoping desperately that she'd like me. I exhaled a bit shakily, pausing as my hand was mere inches from her. She stared into my eyes, narrowed them as if scrutinizing me and my intentions for any harm, before they shut as she pressed her snout to my palm. I let out the breath I'd been holding, feeling the awe that I'd felt when I first met Toothless engulf me tenfold, and for a split second I felt like this was the moment my entire life had been leading up to. It passed as soon as she pulled away, but this time she didn't race off into the trees as she had when Hiccup first attempted this. She only wriggled back down into a huddled position on the ground, watching me with innocuous eyes. I laughed a bit in relief before sitting back down as well, closer than before. I reached my hand out again gingerly, aiming to simply pet her, and I felt my heart soar when she didn't pull away.
---
"So, what are you going to name her?" Hiccup asked. Night had fallen, and we were curled up against a tree, a fire burning a few feet away. The duo of dragons were opposite of the flames, murmuring and yelping at each other. I watched them passively, pondering his question as a chill moved through my body. I doubled into myself, feeling his arms tighten in an attempt to add warmth. The simple event gave me an idea.
"Frostbite."
Hiccup tilted his head in response.
"Frostbite?" He repeated, tone asking me to elaborate.
"Yeah, 'cause this island's cold as hell," I said teasingly. He chuckled, eyes resting on the Night Fury we were discussing before nodding.
"Frostbite.. That fits her for some reason," he murmured. I nodded before pressing my palm to my mouth, muffling a yawn. Toothless and Frostbite were still excitedly interacting with each other, and I hummed a smile before resting my head on Hiccup's shoulder, slipping into sleep.
---
"I think it's time for flying lessons," Hiccup announced the next morning. I gave him a look but he only smiled at me before gesturing for me to follow him. I did so, and we came across our dragons mingling in the opening as usual.
He began explaining to me the proper way to mount a dragon, using Toothless as an example before ushering me to try on Frostbite. After a couple minutes of attempting to get her to allow me without her rolling her eyes in disagreement, I had climbed atop her back, wiggling my feet a bit. I tried to figure out where to place my hands, furrowing my eyebrows.
"Um, Hiccup?"
"Yeah?" he said, still focused on Toothless.
"How do you do this without a saddl--" I cut myself off with a surprised shout as Frostbite decided to take off without warning. I wrapped my arms around her neck in an attempt to not flip off the back of her, my heart racing nearly as fast as she was through the air.
"You did this-- oh my Gods, oh my G-- you did this on purpose," I shrieked, still trying to hold on. She only huffed at me, wiggling her shoulders is an attempt to loosen my grip around her.
'Sorry for not wanting to die, warn me next time!" I exclaimed. She made an amused noise, close to a chuckle, before she expanded her wings and slowed her flight to a steady glide.
When I was sure she wasn't planning to freak me out again, I managed to relax my hold on her, sitting up straighter and resting my palms on the back of her neck instead of tightly around. I let myself admire the scenery; the sky looked as if it was a watercolor painting, with streaks of blues and muted oranges muddled with the white clouds drifting around us. The ocean water rippled with faint waves, and I felt a sense of belonging overcome me as my eyes drifted around.
"This is amazing," I breathed out.
"Isn't it?"
Hiccup's sudden vocalization made me jump, and I turned to see him flying beside us on Toothless.
"Where did you come from?" I squeaked, recollecting myself. He only crinkled his nose at me and laughed before Toothless dived sharply, disappearing below us. I glared in their direction, petting Frostbite lightly.
"You know, Frostbite, if we had a saddle and I knew how to fly a dragon, I would so tell you to follow them," I started to mutter but Frostbite seemed to find it such a great idea that she dropped into a sudden dive and my hands slipped tightly around her neck as my stomach flipped.
"F.. Gods. You didn't warn me. Again," I called out breathlessly as I caught sight of the rapidly approaching island. We touched down beside Hiccup and Toothless, and luckily I managed to give Hiccup a slight fright as revenge for the one he'd bestowed upon me earlier.
"Whoa, hello, how did...? Right, forgot, Night Furies are quick," he murmured, shaking his head. I inhaled deeply, attempting to steady my breathing. Hiccup looked over and started laughing, earning a glare in confusion.
"Are you okay?" he asked, gesturing towards me. I finally realized my hair was a complete mess, whisked mercilessly around my face as I sat lopsided on Frostbite's back.
"Oh, I'm fine, just great. Nearly fell off for the second time in 10 minutes, but I'm swell," I muttered, voice encased in thick sarcasm. Hiccup continued chuckling as I climbed down from Frostbite. He hopped off of Toothless, making his way over to me as I tried to push my hair out of my face.
"So how was it? Have you got some sort of idea on how to fly now?" He asked, attempting to help me fix my hair again. He grazed his hand along the top of my head to smooth down some of it as I sighed.
"If you mean on how to cling to a dragon while they do whatever the hell they want, then yes, I have mastered that," I murmured with a hint of bitterness. He chuckled in response, pushing a few strands behind my ears before tilting his head a bit.
"You'll get the hang of it eventually," he assured me.
"I don't know how you did it," I said casually. He gave me a confused look, and I ran my fingers through my hair.
"I mean it's not like you had people flying on dragons everywhere when you first started with Toothless. How did you manage it by yourself?" I explained. He bit his lip, contemplating for a moment before giving me another shrug.
"I dunno, it came naturally, I guess," he said. I laughed once, shaking my head.
"Oh, so people are just born to interact with dragons?"
"Nope, but the Dragon Master is," he said with a playful wink. I scoffed, hitting his chest lightly.
"You are so full of yourself. Dragon Master.. Who has ever called you that? Nobody," I added, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, Trader Johann referred to me as that once, so yeah, it's a thing," he said with an amused grin. I rolled my eyes, going to respond about how ridiculous it sounded when I caught sight of Toothless nudging Frostbite and crooning at her several times before wriggling around and doing it again.
"Uh, Hiccup. Control your dragon," I said. He furrowed his eyebrows before turning to follow my gaze, noticing what I had.
"What is he doing?" he asked, laughing slightly. Frostbite grumbled, looking a mixture of annoyed and amused but Toothless only tilted his head towards her and gave another soft croon.
"Well, I guess I'd be pretty clingy if I hadn't seen another human being for years and suddenly found you," I replied, lacing my fingers with his. He turned to look at me, raising an eyebrow.
"You're pretty clingy anyways, so I mean.."
"What? No, I'm not." I insisted, pausing for a moment as he glanced playfully at our hands.
"Shut up," I muttered and let go of his hand, crossing my arms. He snickered at my reaction but I ignored him, watching the dragons again. This time, they were sat still, only staring very intently at one another. This went on for about a minute straight and I huffed a confused laugh.
"We have such weird dragons," I thought aloud. Hiccup looked at them before smiling and shaking his head.
"And they probably think they have really weird riders, so we're even," he replied.
---
The next two days we spent on the island consisted of a lot of bonding between Frostbite and I, from just hanging out near each other for a few hours to attempting to fly without having her try and murder me in the process. Hiccup spent a lot of time being studious and writing down everything in his journal, with his excuse being that 'he just wanted to make sure he didn't miss out on any Night Fury information'.
But soon, we reached the end of our trip, and it was time for us to head back to Berk. The only problem was that we weren't sure how to go about it.
The biggest concern was leaving on one dragon and returning on two, with one of those being a newly found Night Fury. Hiccup was still apprehensive about the possible results of exposing Frostbite's existence to the tribe, and I understood why, but regardless we would have to make our way home. I just wasn't sure if that was going to be as easy as we had thought.