Chapter Text
Bones and scale remains of the mother dragon could be found scattered around the nest. The scent of blood still hung heavy in the air, and deep claw marks across nearby trees maybe the scene even more horrible to look at, and it was obvious to the two, the dragon and rider, what had happened.
"Its okay buddy..." Hiccup mumbled as he petted his clearly distressed (from the loss of a fellow dragon) friend's head. "None of us could have gotten to her in time... These things happen."
The two shared an upset gaze, and then turned back to the nest, where a single egg sat upright. The egg was light tan in color with blue spots and a leathery look to it and char marks around the sides, but despite this, the rider still didn't know what kind of egg it was.
"We should probably get it out of here." Hiccup spoke again (being the only one that could speak). "Before that thing comes back."
The dragon nodded and watched carefully as the egg was lifted from its place and held in gentle human hands. Cracks in the egg also caught green eyes and the dragon growled, mistaking the egg for damaged but soon saw a black horn sticking out of the newly formed hole as a dragon head ripped apart its shell.
"Look, Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed, setting the egg down and quickly stepping back. "Its hatching."
'As apposed to? I thought it was reading a book or something.' Toothless muttered as he looked down at the egg and saw the new hatchling frantically trying to pull its shell off of its head and with a roll of the eyes, he blew it off for it.
This hatchling had sleek blue scales, that were so close together it looked like it didn't have scales at all. Its little eyes were small and black in color and it had small black horns on its head, back and tail. What really made this dragon stand out however, was its sandy blond hair that was sprouting around its horns. It looked up at the two with wide eyes, which grew bigger in excitement.
Hiccup tensed and slowly moved back to the rock where his satchel was placed so he could get his notepad but stopped when he saw the small dragon was following him and Toothless for that matter as he stepped forward. The dragon suddenly let out a high pitched cry and rushed to the older dragon and pounced on him. The dragon flinched and was about to throw it off when he found the hatchling had curled up in his head and was nuzzling him.
"Haha. I think it likes you buddy." Hiccup commented as he finally got to his bag and took out his notepad and quickly took down a sketching of it.
The baby dragon looked up at him and suddenly leapt from its perch and over to Hiccup's shoulder, where it clung to his shirt as if for dear life and made the same crying sound as before.
"Aww, little guy- uh, girl. Its OK." He cooed as he stroked the dragon under her chin and then turned to his Nightfury. "Think maybe we should take her back to the academy with us?"
'Isn't that what we were doing anyway?'Toothless asked with a roll of his eyes, but it came out in growling sounds.
"Glad you agree." Hiccup laughed as he carefully placed the baby in his pack so her little head poked out and then got onto Toothless' saddle. "Lets go buddy."
And with that the trio took off in the direction of Berk.
When they arrived back, the chief was waiting for them at the academy. His arms were folded over his chest and he seemed just as worried as he did annoyed.
"Hiccup, what was all that racket about?" He questioned as he took a step forward and unfolded his arms.
"Sorry dad, but-" He paused and gave a very solemn look to his father and hoped he wouldn't have to retell the tale.
"But?" Of course Hiccup never was so lucky.
"A dragon's nest got attacked and the mother was killed." Hiccup explained quickly, just as the baby dragon poked its head out of his bag and began to look around. "Oh and dad, this is Moonbeam."
Truth be told, that was just a random name Hiccup had come up with on the way over, he wasn't sure how he liked it but he knew for a fact that Toothless and the baby dragon seemed to hate it.
"Or um, baby dragon to be named later." He coughed into his hand and adverted his gaze. "Yeah, so we'll just take her- to the academy. Inside that is, I mean- oh boy..."
The boy walked off wordlessly with the dragon tucked under his arms and found a nice patch of hay she could lay in for the time being. Setting her down, he turned to leave but by the time he was a step away from the exit, he heard his father laugh.
"I take it she is a new hatchling? Just born today?" He asked almost teasingly.
"Um, yeah. Why guess that though?" Hiccup asked and turned around and looked back just in time to hear the cry and see the baby pounce on his leg. "Gah!"
Stumbling back a bit, he found his fake leg coming from under him as the force from the pounce set him tumbling to the ground. From just a few feet away, his fellow teenagers had heard him fall and were quick to go and help him up.
"Geez, usually dragons don't jump on you unless you have snacks." Ruffnut teased as the group helped Hiccup back up.
"Aww, shes just a little cutey though." Fishlegs cooed as he lifted the little dragon from Hiccup with some difficulty. "Where did this little one come from?"
"H-her nest was attacked and she hatched when we got there." Hiccup explained, watching as Fishlegs gently rubbed under the baby's chin.
The baby seemed to enjoy it for a minute or two, but she suddenly lept from the bigger viking's arms and rushed back over to Hiccup and began to nuzzle at his legs sweetly and cutely, purring a little as she did so.
"Ha, looks more like a cat than a dragon." One of the twins muttered as Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"Just like Hiccup to get a pet instead of a dragon." Astrid added, causing Hiccup to roll his eyes.
"She's just a baby... W-what ever guys, let's just get to practicing." Hiccup muttered as he handed the dragon back over to Fishlegs and started off to his own end of the scademy.
"Uh, Hiccup!" Fishlegs called over, and in an instance Hiccup felt something clinging to his good leg once more.
"She won't stop following me around." Hiccup began, looking up at his fellow wikings while petting the baby dragon's head. "I wonder why that is..."
"You know she thinks you're her mother right?" Astrid said bluntly, not once looking up from the axe that she was sharpening. "That's what baby animals do when they first see someone at birth. Who ever it is, they think its their mom."
"W-what!?" Hiccup nearly fell over at the sound of that. "Oh no... I think you're right..."
'Congrats, mommy.' Toothless snorted from beside him, causing the Viking to groan.
"Oh great. Now I'm the mother of an unknown dragon." Hiccup groaned, receiving a few (and very loud) laughs from the members of the academy.
"Its nothing to be ashamed of. It's just totally funny." Astrid laughed, setting aside her weapon slowly. "Might as well head home and get her situated then. I doubt you'll be getting much done with her cling to you all day."
"Maybe you're right." Hiccup sighed, picking up the baby dragon and sighing heavily as he turned on his heels to leave again. "Lets go Toothless, Astrid, you're in charge."
With a soft sigh, the ginger viking left with both dragons in tow, and after a short walk, they were back at home and up in Hiccup's room dealing with their number one issue at the moment; Naming the baby dragon.
"OK buddy- Buddies." Hiccup began, gesturing to the two dragons with his pen. "Lets try another list."
It had only been a few hours since the two had found the baby, but in that short time the baby became even more crazy attached to Hiccup. She followed him wherever he went in the house, clung to him like a life line after she eventually caught up with him, and would whine and cry if he tried to set her down. This was awkward at first, but he began to get used to it, and was now more focused on crossed off names on his list.
"So this is a book of baby names I borrowed from dad." Hiccup explained, showing them the book. "Since you guys seem to hate every name I've come up with so far."
He opened the book to the section for baby girls. Once there, he looked for a good place to start reading, he then cleared his throat and read aloud.
"Magnu- You know what I can't do this." Hiccup closed the book quickly and set it aside, where Toothless promptly burned it with a quick blast. "Nope. Can't do it."
The human sat down on his bed and rubbed his head. Toothless, who was amused by this, nudged his friend's leg and went over to a spot of dirt (being used for a baby mat) on the floor and began to trace his claw in it. The first thing he drew was a sun and moon and next to it, he traced a rose. Hiccup was confused at first, but decided to voice the drawings anyway.
"Twilight-Rose?" He asked confused. "Sounds a little long don't you think?"
Toothless rubbed the drawing away quickly. Once the dirt was flat again, he took out his claw again and drew another shape. It looked like a thunder storm this time, with rain falling out of a fat cloud. He then pointed to the rain, which seemed to be the focal point of the drawing.
"Rainfall." The dragon nodded and rubbed that drawing away and drew another.
This one looked like a stick figure with wings holding a smaller stick figure without wings. If Hiccup had to take a guess, he would say that this was a fairy with a human child in its arms, and was the next drawing. This thought made Hiccup laugh, but he shook his head.
"We are not naming her Changeling." He said sternly. "But I did like Twilight-Rose. Or maybe we could just call her Twilight."
Both dragons stared at him, and then shook their heads slowly in response to the suggested name, and then walked off to their respective beds for sleep, leaving the boy alone with the burned remains of the baby book before he too, turned in for the night.
~~~~~
The next day, Hiccup awoke one morning with the bright sun shining is his eyes as usual. Taking a deep breath, he was startled when he found that not only could he not breathe but he also had a weight on his chest.
"Gah!" He yelped as he grabbed whatever was on his face and pulled it away.
The object in his hands let out a startled cry and he quickly realized that it had been the baby dragon snuggled up on his face and in the time it took him to realize this, Toothless had already tackled both of them back on the bed and was ready to defend his best friend from what ever threat there was.
"Woah buddy! Easy there." Hiccup said gently as he patted the Nightfury's nose and tried to sit up a little. "It was just the baby."
Toothless growled lowly at first but then licked his friend's hand and hopped off the bed and patted over to the door. Meanwhile, Hiccup laughed and then looked down at the still whimpering baby and began to rub her tummy.
"Changeling," He began sternly (and yet not so sternly because he thought the name sounded stupid) as he placed a firm finger on the baby dragon's nose. "You have your own bed you know, and you have to ask me before you decide to climb into mine."
The baby chirped sadly and licked the boy's hand apologetically, then leapt out of his arms and followed Toothless to the door and sat there as she tried to figure out what they were waiting for. Hiccup smiled at the sight, then got up himself and walked over to the two and petted their heads.
"Okay, I guess it is time for breakfast." The human boy smiled and nudged open the door and headed downstairs after the two bounding dragons. "Morning dad."
He called down to the bury man who was already eating his share of fried chicken for breakfast. The redhead lifted his head and aimed his beady eyes at the top of the stairs where his son was, and then at the bottom where the dragons were.
"Good morning son." The older Viking greeted in a low and yet somehow still booming voice as he set down his food. "I was wondering when you were going to get up."
"Yeah, I was kinda up late last night studying." Hiccup admitted as he took his place at the table and knocked some food (whatever his father had left over) onto his own plate.
"What kind of studying?" Stoick grunted as he picked up another chicken leg and took a bite of it. "or can I safely assume dragons again, per usual?"
"Eh, per usual. But this time I was studying a certain breed of dragon." Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his head and reaching over to a bucket of fish beside him and knocking it over for the dragons to eat.
"The breed of that little tyke?" Stoick asked, gesturing to the littlest of the group. "And what'did ya learn about it?"
"Well, after I looked back over Toothless's drawings, um, it turned out his first drawing wasn't a name." The boy paused and took out the book of dragons from his vest pocket and handed it over to his father. "It was a breed of dragons. I'm not sure how rare they are but its the first I've heard of them."
~~~
Twilight Rose
Average Height: between 12' to 10 feet
Population: unknown
Lifespan: Until slain
Dangerous? If Found: The Twilight Roses are considered (by this books standards) to be one of the most loving and gentle dragons, unless their eggs are attacked but even then they do not attack, the mother will protect her eggs instead of fighting in case of sneak attacks. Little else is known about them other than what is listed below.
Diet: Mainly fish, preferably eels.
Normal breeding time: Mid March.
Birth: Early June.
Habitat: Near waterfalls or under trees in small holes (normally this is only the children)
~~~
"Very interesting." The father muttered as he shut the book and tossed it back to his son. "Very interesting."
"So that's really all I know about her." Hiccup said as he reached down and plucked the feeding dragon from her spot on the floor and held her on his lap. "Though, I also learned that their blood temperature changes from warm blooded to cold blooded depending on the environment."
"And how did you learn this son?" The man asked as he raised a thick eyebrow slowly.
"Its just something that I saw her doing when I tried to give her a bath last night." He explained as he scratched her under her chin.
The baby purred and nuzzled Hiccup's hand happily but then jumped off of lap and went over to Toothless. She smiled widely up at the older dragon and began to chirp happily.
'Isn't human momma the greatest?' She purred happily as she rubbed her head against his leg.
The Nightfury puffed softly and picked the dragon baby by the scruff of her neck and carried her away.
'Okay and away we go.' The baby cooed absent mildly as the other dropped her on a patch of furs and then went back to his pile of fish.
"Toothless, that wasn't very nice." Hiccup scolded as he went over to the baby and picked her up, bringing her back over.
The dragon rolled his eyes and went back to eating his fish quickly, leaving behind a little for the still unnamed baby. She purred happily and jumped out of the human teen's arms so she could toddle over to her food.
"Aww, shes pretty cute when she walks." Hiccup commented as he returned to the table to sit and study the little dragon's movements.
She nudged certain fish away until she found a wayward eel and gulped it up. After this, she decided that she was content with this and returned back to her 'mommy' and cuddled up at his legs for a nap. This little display was enough to make anyone fawn over. Anyone except for Toothless, who appeared less than impressed with the actions of the smaller dragon.
Hiccup took no notice of this and instead picked up the baby yet again and took her back upstairs for a nap. By the time he returned, it was time to head over to the academy. They would be working on trust again, and to be quite honest that wasn't something the brunette was looking forward to, so he was almost grateful when Toothless took this time so fly as slow as possible (Or at least in Hiccups mind it was.) but unfortunately when the two came to talking, since training wasn't something the two would even bother talking about, the only topic they had was about the baby. Thor only knew that the Nightfury was not keen on that subject.
"I don't know what their growth rate is, but I think she should be able to start in the academy by mid winter or so." Hiccup concluded, again mindless to the fact that his friend was not listening to him. "What do you think buddy?"
The dragon rumbled lowly under him in response, which was the equivalent to a human grunting or being undecided. The human smiled and patted his head.
"Yeah, I guess." He smiled and looked back out at the passing scenery. "Though we could probably just keep her at home and train her there."
This idea Toothless seemed to agree full heartedly with, in his mind the academy would be the only place he and his friend had now, or maybe that was because he was overlooking things again. After all, the baby was something you could trip over if not careful. With that in mind, he quickened his flying speed until he reached the academy. As always, if they weren't there first- Astrid was.
"So hows your baby doing?" She teased as her friends landed in front of her.
"Um, fine." Hiccup muttered as he slid off of his saddle and approached the blonde. "Why you ask?"
"Eh, just wondering." She said with a shrug, just barely glimpsing the dragon's annoyed gaze.
She then figured that they probably talked about the baby plenty at home and those two probably just wanted to talk about something else (yes, when Toothless was involved she always grouped them together as one).
"So what are we working on today?" Astrid asked in an attempt to change the subject, casually shifting the weight from one leg to the other. "Trust exercise right?"
"Right. Let's just hope we don't have another- um, incident." Hiccup winced at the memory of his teammates hitting either a deck or the water going something miles per hour.
"Hiccup, you know those three. There is bound to be another incident." Astrid laughed and slugged him in the shoulder in her goodhearted way. "All you can do is just sit back and laugh your ass off."
"Um. Not really, but I guess it can be kind of funny if no one is getting hurt." He responded, rubbing his sore shoulder and walking towards the entrance. "Though I guess, according to them, they are to tough to feel pain."
"Not sure I believe it, saying as how Snotface started crying afterwards." Astrid reminded them.
After this the three entered the main hall and were greeted by Astrid's dragon, but she almost instantly went back to the pile of chickens that was stacked up in front of her. Now all the four had to do was wait for the others, and given that it was only eight in the morning, they had about another three hours to get stuff done. Well, that would be a little difficult, saying as how upon entering the Academy, Toothless suddenly went MIA.
"Did you see where he went?" Hiccup asked as he scanned the room for the other dragon.
"Not since we walked in." Astrid responded as she sharped her axe. "But he did seem a little off today, so maybe that has something to do with it."
"You think? I didn't notice anything wrong." Hiccup shrugged, taking his place in his corner of the room and taking out his notebook. "Other than him being a little mean to the baby."
Astrid snorted in amusement, already having a good guess of what was wrong, and since she hadn't been wrong about things lately, she was more than likely correct about this too.
"I think I know whats wrong." Her deep eyes never once left the sharpening blade of her weapon as she spoke. "Its like when my mom had my baby brother, I felt threatened."
"You think Toothless feels threatened by the baby?" Hiccup had to laugh at this, it was such a stupid statement. "Astrid, she isn't even a quarter his size."
"I meant placement wise, genius." She shot back, her eyes shifting ever so slightly to look at him. "Babies need constant attention you know. Which means someone has to be left out."
There was a pause of thought from Hiccup as he considered what she had just said and the more he thought of it, the more he had to laugh about it, since they only had the baby two days and in those two days Hiccup felt that he gave both dragons equal attention. No, Astrid was probably just way off base. Whatever was bothering his dragon had to be something completely different. Right?