Chapter 6

In dragon training the next day, Hiccup took down the Nadder by scratching it under the chin, leaving a lot of Vikings with annoying questions. 

Because of his ever growing popularity among the other teens and Vikings, almost everyone in the Great Hall ran over to sit next to him while he ate, causing a lot of awkward conversations and useless small talk.

The day after that, Toothless started teaching Hiccup about dragon social structures.

"So, it kind of works like how humans live," Hiccup said. "You all live in a large nest, but each family lives in their own den or cave, catching your own food and teaching your own young. But you still communicate with other dragons just to be friends or to discuss events coming up like the festival of a god." 

"Exactly," Toothless agreed, "you're starting to catch on." 

The two had been on a flight, and as they landed in the cove, a tiny light caught Hiccup's eye. A light was reflecting off of the shield still stuck in in the rocks, creating a small dot on the ground.

"Ooh," Toothless said, gazing at where Hiccup was looking, "Tiny shiny, I must catch it." 

To Hiccup's surprise and amusement, the large black dragon pounced on the reflected light like a cat, growling in frustration when it wouldn't stay under his paw. 

"Hiccup, you try and catch it," Toothless growled, stepping back to let Hiccup get at the light.

"It's impossible to catch it, Toothless," Hiccup said, laughing at the dragon, but the part of his mind that was beginning to become more dragon-like was itching to catch the light

"Why not?" Toothless complained, trying to paw at the light again. 

Hiccup tilted his head, an idea forming in his brain. He took a small hammer he was using in the forge earlier out of his belt, holding it against the sun and creating another light on the ground. 

"Another shiny!" Toothless exclaimed, leaving his previous light and pouncing on the one Hiccup had created. 

Laughing, Hiccup moved the light across the ground, finding his friend's strange behavior immensely funny, and was slightly concerned of the instinct he had to chase after the light himself. 

Inspired by the light chasing game they had created, Hiccup used his new light trick to guide a very sassy Terrible Terror, or Singeing Singer, back into his cage during dragon training later that day.  

Though Hiccup wasn't enjoying the attention of the villagers, he was happy that he was able to get the dragons safely back into their cages without anyone getting hurt. But another problem was that Astrid was getting suspicious of Hiccup, and he knew it. 

Astrid was the only one not fawning over Hiccup's new skills, and he overheard her on more than one occasion muttering to herself over dinner, saying how it should have been her excelling in dragon training, not the tiny toothpick excuse of a Viking Hiccup was. And as Hiccup was walking into the forest to meet Toothless, his path was cut off by a very angry Astrid throwing her axe at the trees around her. 

The blonde girl turned to look at Hiccup as he stumbled into her training session, who was very glad that he hadn't turned into his half dragon form earlier. Hiccup and Astrid stared at each other for a moment, then Hiccup very awkwardly speed walked away from her, not uttering a single word. 

Being the smart person that he was, Hiccup summoned his wings the moment he was out of her sight, flying as fast as he could to the cove so she wouldn't find Toothless. Not that the Night Fury couldn't just fly out of the cove if Astrid managed to find it, but it would be incredibly unfortunate if Hiccup and Toothless had to move from the place the two practically lived in to another part of the forest. 

"Hey, bud," Hiccup called into the cove. "What're we doing today?" 

Toothless smiled at him, standing up from where he was napping and walking over to Hiccup, "Well, I am happy to say that I don't think that there's anything else I can teach you about dragons. We've talked about our Gods, our species, our Mating season, life cycles, and social systems. I wouldn't say you're an expert in dragon life, but the only way to truly learn everything is to live it."  Toothless's eyes sparkled.

Hiccup took a moment to process, thoughts racing through his brain. He had known this was going to happen eventually, but he hadn't fully considered the consequences. If he could turn into a dragon-a Night Fury, of all dragons-he wouldn't be that tiny little useless toothpick he was. Among humans, he would be a fearsome beast none would dare approach, and among dragons, he would be a mighty Moon Sweeper, a rare and powerful dragon favored by the Moon Goddess. 

In fact, Hiccup and Toothless could fly away from Berk all together. The two could venture out into distant lands, find the other Sky Sweepers that had migrated south, and lead normal dragon lives. Hiccup wouldn't have the pressure of being the disgraceful son of Stoick the Vast, always having the shadow of his father lurking over him. Maybe Hiccup could even find a mate, get a new name, and live his life how he wanted to live it. 

"Okay," Hiccup said after a moment, "how do we do this?"

Toothless beamed, "Well, after much thought and remembering every detail I was told about Dragonborn, I think that it will be easiest for you to transform when your power is greatest, on the night of a full moon. And luckily for us, it just so happens to be a full moon tonight." 

Hiccup gulped, knowing that he would start freaking out in the time between then and nightfall, "So, what do we do in the meantime?" 

"Well, we could always go for a fly," Toothless responded, already opening his wings.

"Great idea," Hiccup said, hoping that the sky would soothe his nerves. 

The two launched into the sky, soaring above the clouds. Hiccup laughed as Toothless dipped and spun around him. 

"I wonder if I'll be able to do tricks like yours when I can shift into a dragon," Hiccup said. 

"I don't see why not," Toothless responded, leveling out next to Hiccup. "I'm not surprised that you can't do very much in your half dragon form, human limbs are not exactly aerodynamic." 

"That's true," Hiccup said, "but I'm still not sure if it will come as naturally to me as regular flying does." 

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Yeah," 

"But when you do figure out how to fly like a real Moon Sweeper, we're going to have so much fun," Toothless declared, doing a barrel roll over Hiccup and leveling out on his other side. "We could go on flights for hours, just because we can. We won't worry about humans attacking us or fighting for survival. We'll fly far, far away from this horrible island and away from that wretched Queen-" Toothless's body tensed, as if he had said something he hadn't meant to. 

"Queen?" Hiccup asked, trying to recall if Toothless had told him about some dragon queen, "What Queen?" 

"It was nothing, forget it," Toothless said quickly.

"It didn't sound like nothing," Hiccup pushed.

"Okay, fine, it is something. But it isn't something you should worry about." There was a dark look in Toothless's eyes, as if he was recalling memories he would have preferred left forgotten.

"But I am worried now," Hiccup responded, confused as to why Toothless was hiding something from him. As far as he was aware, Toothless had always been honest with him.

Toothless stared at the horizon, but it was as though he was looking through the sky instead of at it, "I suppose you deserve to know the truth,"  Toothless said, his voice hollow."Have you ever wondered why dragons raid your islands?" 

Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows, "Of course I have, but I've always just assumed it was because they needed food." 

"That's half true," Toothless said, squeezing his eyes shut, as if preparing for a blow. "We do raid your homes for food, but we don't eat the food ourselves. I've told you about how every nest has an alpha that watches and cares for them all, but not all rulers are that kind. The nest where I come from is ruled by an unforgiving Queen whose species we call the Red Death. 

"This barbaric dragon uses the incredible gifts bestowed upon her by the Sun Goddess for evil, using her mind controlling powers to force her subjects to attack human villages, steal their food, kill their people, and deliver the food to her. If a dragon fails to return with a meal for her pleasure, they will get eaten themselves." 

"Why don't you just leave?" Hiccup asked, his voice wavering.

"We can't," Toothless responded. "She's always lurking inside our minds, reading our thoughts and making sure no one escapes. And the only reason she has enough power to read all of our minds all at once is because the more subjects she has, the stronger her power grows. To keep our population strong, she goes into a deep sleep during Mating season, digging her claws deeper into our minds. Those who are too young to Mate or are caring for young are forced into sleep alongside her, and everyone else has to fly to our Mating island. Mating season is one of the only reprieves we have in our enslavement, when Mates get to Mate and pretend that they live on a happy island with a good ruler, and new adult dragons get to search for their Mate, an unbreakable bond that forever will provide happiness. Then all dragons are forced to return to the nest with their young in tow. 

"If the Queen is not satisfied with the number of hatchlings produced, then she will force unmated dragons to mate with each other." Toothless's eyes darkened, "When two dragons Mate without being Mated, it angers the Gods because Mating is a sacred connection that should only be performed between two dragons who would sacrifice their own life for the sake of the other. But when two unmated dragons Mate, the result is a despicable hatchling. A dragon born with no kindness in its soul, and powers so evil that they are not dared spoken of. The Queen often forces the most powerful unmated dragons to Mate with each other to create even more powerful offspring that will obey her every wicked command."

Toothless looked high into the sky, a look of pain on his face, "Being a Moon Sweeper, a species with enough magical capacity to become an alpha, I have been one of those unfortunate dragons to have been forced to mate with others several times." 

A silence fell between them, broken only by the whistling of the wind underneath their wings.

"Y-You lived like that," Hiccup's voice was barely a whisper, "for your entire life?" 

"I did," Toothless responded, sorrow blanketing his voice.

"Toothless," Hiccup said, "I know this probably doesn't mean much, but I am so, so sorry. You're like a brother to me, and it horrifies me that that's all your life has been." 

"Hiccup, you are the last person who should be apologizing," Toothless said, looking at Hiccup with a silent plea in his eyes, "You are the one who gave me my freedom. When you shot me down that night, the Queen dug herself out of my brain, thinking that I was almost certainly dead. I was alone in my head for the first time since I was brought to the Queen's nest. Thanks to you, I was able to live with free will. You gave me the power to experience the wonders of soaring through the clouds for the first time since I was a hatchling. Those memories you saw of mine when we first met were of when I had flown for the first time on the Mating island the Winter I was born. Those memories were the only other time I had ever flown through the Great Sky just for the joy of it. Even if I only have one day left in my life without the Queen in my head, I would follow you to the ends of the Great Sky  just because of the weeks of freedom you have gifted me."

Another silence stretched between them, and Hiccup was afraid tears would start to fall down his face. This amazing dragon  before him had become family to Hiccup, and he would be prepared to sacrifice his life for Hiccup just because Hiccup was a coward who didn't have the guts to kill him, and had set him free instead. 

"Toothless," Hiccup said, his voice shaky but firm, "I do not want you to feel as though you need to stay near me and protect me because I unknowingly helped you break free of your Queen. After all you've been through, you don't deserve to be tied to me just because you feel like you owe me something. What I did was out of desperation and fear, so ask you not to follow me to my death, but to fly beside me, so that we can guide each other through the next chapter of our lives. The part where we both start to live the way we want to live, instead of living only for pleasing others."

Toothless looked at Hiccup, joy and relief in his eyes, "We shall live out our days in happiness together, brother." 

* * *

The sun was almost below the horizon, painting the sky in pink and orange, and Hiccup knew the moon would soon rise following the sun's set. He glanced anxiously at the sky, pacing along the bank of the lake as Toothless lazed on the ground beside him.

"Do you think it's going to be like, BAM!, you're a dragon, or do you think its going to be more like how I shift into my half dragon form?" Hiccup asked, wringing his hands together.

"I don't know Hiccup," Toothless answered, exasperated, "just stop stressing out and wait and see." 

A new idea popped in Hiccup's head, "Do you think it'll be painful? I mean, instead of growing wings, my whole body is going to change shape. That can't be a painless process." 

"Whatever's going to happen, we'll find out soon." Toothless sighed, "So calm down, and I highly doubt it'll be painful." 

Hiccup grumbled something about useless reptiles and plopped down next to Toothless, watching as the sun slowly started disappearing from sight, the moon peaking from below the horizon.

"Hey," Hiccup said, "if Dragonborn born to the Moon Goddess transform on the full moon, then when do Dragonborn born of the Sun God and Great Sea transform?"

"Dragons who get their magic from the Moon Goddess get their magic recharged every full moon in small doses, which is when I believe you will shift into your dragon form," Toothless explained. "But dragons who get their magic from the Sun God recharge their magic twice a year in larger doses, usually in the middle of summer and winter, so I'd guess Dragonborn born to the Sun God turn into their dragon form then for longer periods of time. Dragons born the the Great Sea have different recharge times that change every year, usually when a huge wave crashes through the Great Waters or when a large storm rises out of the sea, so their transformations would be pretty irregular."

"Oh, okay. But I think you mentioned some sort of Celebrations of the Gods," Hiccup said, "could you explain that more?" 

"I didn't tell you about those?" Toothless asked, turning to see Hiccup shake his head, "Well, the Celebrations of the Gods happens three times a year, one for each god. It's when all the dragons born to one god worship their god in the form of singing dragon song and dancing through the wind. We believe that these Celebrations are what encourage the Gods to continue gifting us our magic, and that if we stopped doing them, all dragons would suddenly be unable to do all of the fantastical things we were born to do. 

"The Moon Goddess Celebration happens in the middle of winter, when the sun is away for the longest time the entire year, and the full moon beams across the stars for longer than any other day. The Sun God Celebration happens int he middle of summer, when the moon is away for longer and the sun is stretching across the sky for longer than it does any other day of the year. The dragons born the the Great Sea usually plan when to have their Celebration themselves, usually sometime in autumn or spring because they prefer those times of year."

"Cool," Hiccup said, "did you still do those Celebrations in your nest?"

"Oh, yes," Toothless said bitterly. "The Queen wanted as much power as she could get." 

"Ah," Hiccup said, looking down at the ground, "that makes sense." 

"It does, doesn't it." 

Hiccup looked to the sky, "Is it just me, or does it look like the moon is almost completely over the horizon?" 

Toothless looked at the moon, smiled, and got to his feet. Hiccup stood up after him, and watched as the moon slowly revealed the rest of itself, completely full and inches above the horizon. 

 Hiccup had expected the magic to take effect immediately, like he would suddenly feel super powerful. But instead, he stood there awkwardly as Toothless looked at him expectantly.

"So, how long is this going to take?" Hiccup asked after a moment of silence.

"Give it a second," Toothless said, "it usually takes a while for the Moon Goddess's magic to reach you." 

"But I thought something magical was going to happen the moment the moon rose over the-" 

A strange shiver shot down Hiccup's spine, similar to the thrill he always used to get when he saw or heard the Night Fury, but this was different. Less like anticipation and more like something foreign and powerful.

Toothless bounced on his feet as he watched Hiccup's reaction, happy that his theory was right. 

A familiar blue light spread across Hiccup's body, but it was slower than usual, and felt more like an outside force than his own will. Then the light covered Hiccup's eyes, and then all he could feel was his body contorting and contracting.

First, the familiar wings and tail grew out of his back. Then, Hiccup felt his ears and face elongating. Next, his arms and legs started to stretch, and Hiccup felt as though his limbs were being pulled in every direction. Finally, every inch of Hiccup started to grow in size, and his now two front legs hit the ground in front of him. 

Hiccup's eyes were closed shut, but everything about his body felt different. It didn't feel quite as natural as his half dragon form did, but not as foreign as his human form. There were muscles in places he had never felt before, and thoughts and instincts in the back of his mind that made so much sense to him in that moment, but he imagined he couldn't fathom thinking them in his human form. 

Slowly, as if to not accidentally change form, Hiccup opened his eyes, and found himself head to head with an ecstatic Toothless.