castleinthemist | 01 | Arrival

01 | Arrival | Open

Toothless wasn't even aware he'd dozed off until he was waking up.

He was waking up cramped... cramped and uncomfortable in a small, dark box. When his initial struggles did little to dislodge him, he began thrashing wings, feet, head, tail- anything he had enough room to move.

Eventually, the dragon gained enough momentum and energy to burst through the lid and send it crashing against the floor. The noise startled him but not as much as the scenery when he finally got a good look around. His respirations came quickly, his pupils dilating and body cringing in on himself to be as small as possible.

Where was he? What is this place? Where's Hiccup? Astrid? Stoik, even?!

Toothless took in a sharp breath and released it in a loud, echoing roar that seemed to ooze loneliness, confusion, fear, and worry. When he neither heard nor saw the Vikings responding, he quickly leaped into the nearest dark corner and shrunk against the wall, curling his tail and wings around himself.

Ugh, his head hurt. The cool stone wall helped as he pressed the top of his head against it but it didn't help for long. He was worried about his humans... and their absence. Disoriented as he was, he stayed in his hiding spot to try and get his bearings straight before seeking Hiccup.

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He was about to make his request for the leather and leather working supplies when Duo heard the lonesome cry of some animal reverberating down the path from the alter room. It wasn't far, it was loud and it echoed. What the... What was that? Sent a fucking chill down his spine. Looking back to the spring, then to the altar room and turning his head to look back towards the communal area.

This was something he could investigate on his own, wasn't it? Yeah. Hopefully he wasn't making a mistake here. He hooked his machete from his belt and started down towards the alter room. Once he was in the storage room, he moved down the stairs and through the door.

"Hello?" He asked aloud, holding the weapon defensively.

The dragon kept his head pressed against the cold wall, a low pitched rumbling reverberating from his chest. The muscular flaps that served as his ears rose on end when he heard a voice. It wasn't one he recognized but he turned to watch for the voice's host anyway.

He was cautious, wise enough to know that not all humans responded well to dragons, and not all contact with humans ended with less than a thrown axe.

Toothless stayed in his dark hiding spot until he saw Duo walk through and into the room. He instantly recognized the weapon and froze, but on second evaluation of the tall but lanky, nearly puny human, he was convinced that this was no more of a threat to him than Hiccup.

... and maybe he knew where Hiccup was.

Slowly, carefully and silently, save for the lightest tik tik of claws on stone, Toothless approached him from behind, just out of arm's and machete's reach, and gave him a curious sniff.

Duo's reflexes were quick, when he heard the clack of claws behind him he whipped around and jumped back, only to gasp at the sight of the black beast. "Whoaa--!" Okay! He needed to... to. Run. He needed to run. His eyes scanned for the exit and-

It was directly behind the dragon. So he is backing up. "Eeeeh. Niiice monster."

Edited 2012-03-23 04:25 (UTC)

Toothless was just as surprised as Duo at the reaction, and jumped back as well. He let out a startled moan that tapered off into a curious purr as big green and yellow eyes widened.

The human had spoken? What'd he say? Nice? "Nice" meant "good," didn't it? Yes, yes, he was a nice dragon! With a tilt of the head and a raise of the paw, the fearsome Night Fury looked little else like a big winged kitten or puppy.

A big winged kitten or puppy that was easily twice Duo's size.

C'mon, Toothless. You know what they say about humans- they're more scared of you than you are of them.

At least he hadn't been hit yet, right?

And he's watched some those old dinosaur movies, right? They can't see you if you don't move? What bullshit.

Besides, it was the small and smart ones you had to watch out for. The ones that tilted it's head curiously at you and then turned you into steak ribbons with their claws. And this thing had some claws. Duo backed up all the more, starting to move to the right to move around the dragon. Get to the exit.

Toothless watched his movements carefully, green eyes locked with purple, until finally the dragon decided that maybe this wasn't such a nice human. His ear flaps dropped against his skull and he cringed, trodding backwards into the shadow and darkness of the room, though his big eyes could still be seen gleaming from what little light there was.

He lay against the wall, curled up in a comfortable position with his head on his paws as he let out a mournful, worried sigh.

Where was his boy viking?

...Well now he just felt like he kicked a puppy. Great. He dropped his shoulders a bit, sighing as he looked back towards the caskets, seeing one that had been thrown off that platform with such force-- so they're bringing animals here now too? What is it? Clearly, while he ignored the non threatening body language in his fear of the thing, it didn't want to hurt him, right?

Cautiously, he held the weapon tight with his other hand. "Eeh. Thing. Uuh. Do you understand me?" might as well try to reinstate communications first.

He walked over to the door and stood by it. "This way if you want to get outside."

Toothless raised his head to look at him, a hopeful look in his eyes and an inquisitive perk to his ears. He regarded Duo, looking for signs of aggression and ill intent. Finding none, Toothless climbed to his feet and moved towards him. He kept his head low and his ears back, pupils wide and wings collapsed and tail swaying, trying his hardest to look nothing like the dangerous beast he was under that worried, tame demeanor.

When he stood just a paw's swipe away from Duo, he paused and sat back on his haunches. He understood that the human wanted him to follow, but he wasn't sure where to. He hoped it was familiar people and ground, but doubted it.

He turned his head, looking and sniffing around. No, this place was no where near home. He looked back to Duo, blinking slowly. Follow the leader; where to?

Now, he understood that and it was quickly becoming obvious that this animal was tame some how. Or just very fond of humans. As snacks. Duo backed up slowly, moving around into the storage room. He picked up the pace a bit in there, halfway up the stairs and as he kept gesturing for the monster to follow.

"C'mon. It's okay." Hopefully.

"You're not gonna eat me, are you?"

Toothless purred softly as he followed Duo at a distance long enough to react should the human try something. Then, the man spoke to him again as he began to climb the stairs.

Toothless understood his favorite word, "eat" and the other, "me," and the inquisitive inflection. See? Smart dragon. But, eat Duo? Eat a human? Him? He shook his head and gave a disgusted snort.

Humans were gross.

And there wasn't much to Duo, anyway.

Besides, he found that humans tended to provide him with much tastier things when they were alive and well.

With that response? A very very intelligent response? He almost laughed, but then remembered what he was with. No sudden noises, no big movements. He exhaled out his nose, snorting his amusement.

"Gonna trust y', big guy. Don't go breakin' it." He gestured again for him to follow up the stairs and through the Toph made tunnel out of the window, then down the stairs again. He stopped at the totem door which was left open from the first time someone stepped through it.

As they walked and the dragon became more comfortable, he began walking closer and closer to Duo, until he was nearly step in step beside him.

The human hadn't tried anything yet, and while his hold on that blade hadn't decreased, Toothless couldn't help but feel that it wasn't meant to intimidate him. The human's attention was elsewhere and everywhere and only barely on him.

That did put the dragon on edge, though, and he kept his eyes and ears open and alert.

When they reached the door, he paused and looked up, regarding it with a curious rumble in his throat before continuing on after Duo.

It was at the door that Duo put the short sword back into the loop of his belt he'd made and continued on. He was putting his faith in this monster, after all it was acting like such a domesticated animal so what did he have to fear from it? There was just this sinking feeling that the thing'll bite him in the ass moving that close to him. At the rumble, he turned his eyes back at Toothless, then continued on.

"Pretty clear you like people. Wonder if you have a name." Oh well. Probably gonna have to come up with something later for him. And not long after that they reached the fountain. Hmm.

As they headed down the hall, the Night Fury reacted much like a trained dog off the leash. He didn't stray far from Duo, but he'd walk a short distance ahead to sniff or paw at something, or hang back to continue his investigations before quickly catching up.

This place, he determined, was no where near his home. It was far too warm, for one thing. Another, there was no smell of burning meat or sweaty, unbathed vikings.

Perked ears and wings drooped and nearly dragged the ground as he eventually resorted to only following Duo slowly and steadily.

The dragon was losing hope and it was becoming apparent to the creature that this was not his home, no where near it. But still, he had to wonder if there was a way back.

What? Duo not unbathed enough for ya? He chose to ignore the fountain for the moment and continue on towards the main hall, passing through that and grabbing a bowl of the awful food.

"Well, I know you're gonna hate this food, but it's all we got." He sat it on the floor for Toothless and grabbed one for himself.

Not nearly as much as a Viking, Duo.

Toothless rumbled so lowly that it was more felt than heard. He stopped his noise suddenly and perked an ear when the food was set before him. He sniffed at it curiously. Still cautious about it, he raised a claw and gave it a quick tap. His pupils narrowed at the gruel getting on his paw, and he shook it, squealing in surprise and bouncing in a circle around the bowl before deciding to try a different alternative- he gummed and licked his foot clean.

Ah, yes, that worked much better, the dragon decided. The glop wasn't that bad, either, he determined, before nudging the bowl again just before sticking his nose into it.

At least to him, it didn't taste too bad, but he could tell it hardly had any nutrients or much more than just hunger-satiating filler. His long, muscular tail swept side to side behind him as he ate.

Waa. Duo just set his chin to his hand and watched the beast move around.

"Tch. You actually like it, don't you?" Best not tell him about the real food that Haku brought, or the fish and apples in the court yard.

"Well, that's fine. You can have mine for that day." He walked over and poured is into the bowl on the floor and flopped back into his chair. It was still really early and he hadn't gotten much sleep. He was yawning.

Like it? Well, not really. It wasn't nearly as good as fish, but he was used to eating raw fish, so there wasn't too much he didn't like.

'cept eels. Bugh.

When he'd licked up Duo's share, he turned his attention back to him. He let out an inquisitive growl before leaping forward and catching Duo's hand in his gummy jaws and tugging on his arm.

Come on, what are you sitting down for when there's no time for that? Take him to Hiccup!

"Gwaah!" Duo gasped, jumping and tugging his hand away--!!! Look! He's trying to be nice here but there is no reason that this dragon should be reinforcing the fear of being eaten by this thing. He pulled his slicked hand away and stood up.

"No! Bad. Uh..." He got off the chair and started backing away. Goddamn this thing. Why'd he have to be a moron let this thing follow him back?

Edited 2012-03-24 03:39 (UTC)

The sound caught his attention, but the words really made him cringe.

No. Bad!

Toothless cringed and shrunk away from Duo, curling his tail between him and the human, and opening both fins as if hiding in shame. What had he done to be called bad? He didn't know!

He peeked up at Duo with big, doleful eyes and lowed deeply.

Look, he was sorry already, just take him to Hiccup!

Okay. That's it. He's just backing away slowly, moving around the table and walking to his room, watching just in case the dragon follows. It is faaar far too early to be dealing with this.

And he loved dogs, so what's the problem? Oh yeah. This 'dog' was 1,000 pounds of pitch black badassery. He's goin' back to bed to deal with this in the morning.

Toothless watched him leave and followed him out into the hall. He stood onto his back legs and sniffed high in the air, and then low to the ground.

Nothing of Hiccup either direction. He was still hoping that Duo would be able to show him to the Viking, so he followed after him, pausing to sniff in every direction for his freckled friend.

Alas, nothing. His walking had slowed and he was drooping, almost wilting, to the ground. He was upset and sad, worried and tired. When Duo reached his room and stopped, Toothless stopped too, sitting back on his rear and ... damn near pouting at the ground. He curled his tail around him and used a paw to pull it closer, seemingly trying to comfort himself.

Duo turned to look at the poor pathetic looking creature, shaking his head slowly. What did he want him to do? He had no idea what the creature wanted, and all it really looked was lonely?

"Wait." Duo said with a groan. "I need to sleep." That means? Just chill out for a while. He opened his bedroom door and slipped inside, peeking out at him.

At least he was 'tame' more or less.

Toothless understood that and knew that no more progress would be made for the next several hours. Resigned for the time being, Toothless gave Duo another quick look and moved to a darker part of the hall just a short distance away. He walked in a circle three times before lying down and curling up on himself.

Maybe he'd sleep, or maybe he'd just lie there and wallow in sadness for a while. Whatever happened, he'd be there until the man returned.

Around six hours later, he does return, peaking out the door just to see if Toothless was still there or not. He's cautious, but no longer anxious around the beast. The dragon.

"Ooohboy..." Yep. Still there.

Toothless, luckily for Duo, was sleeping. While he wasn't snoring, his deep breathing could be heard whooshing in and out of his large nostrils, steady and equal.

He looked physically relaxed, but his posturing suggested he knew how alone and away from home he was. He was curled up in a position that likely wasn't comfortable at all, but he slept through it anyway. He'd probably fallen asleep that way- trying anything to comfort himself before mental exhaustion claimed him.

Duo didn't really have much he could do with Toothless just then, so instead he just went to fill a bowl of water for Toothless to drink from later before taking off to relax in the courtyard. He settled in under the big apple tree he liked so much.

The sounds of Duo stirring began to rile the dragon. By the time he heard the bowl being set on the ground, he was full conscious but not entirely convinced to move. When he managed to garner the energy to open an eye, he watched Duo retreat down the hall.

Toothless lay there longer still until he finally gained enough umption to get up and follow the human, slow, long, lanky steps that did more to stretch his muscles and joins than it did to move him along the hall.

He moved stealthily, taking great caution to stay in the shadows as much as possible. It was a bit of a challenge once his feet hit grass, but by that time he didn't think it mattered.

The sun was bright and caught him off guard. His pupils constricted, giving him a look that was less than friendly as usual, but still not betraying of his inner beast of death.

He stopped walking when he found Duo relaxed. He stuck his head out farther to sniff at him and then decided it was safe enough to close the distance and sit on his haunches beside him.

Duo was acutely aware of the dragon even while he sunbathed in the morning sun. Dragon sat next to him, he cracked an eye open and smirked.

"You're just some lost puppy, aren't you?" He had his arms crossed behind him, watching him with that one eye before turning his entire face to look at him. His fear wasn't there anymore, a bit of apprehension, but no fear.

He didn't understand what Duo said, but he understood the tone, and he responded with a high pitched groan that tapered off into a low, soft rumble in his chest. It was an agreeing noise that was accompanied with a paw tapping at Duo's elbow until the attached hand was free enough to rub a great big scaly head against.

Lost puppy? ... maybe a little, but probably more like a lost kitten that- WAS THAT A FISH?!

Toothless' eyes constricted and he shot from the tree to the pond, coming short just enough that the fish couldn't see him from the bank. He crouched down and inched forward bit by bit until he could look into the water and watch, tail sweeping back and forth behind him like a metronome.

Erk! "Okay!" Jeesh. Have a nice little rub. Be happy he's such a nice guy, Toothless. Duo looked him over briefly and gave him a nice pat above his head.

Course then the monster decided he was hungry. Duo just let him at it, tucking his hand back behind his head.

The dragon stomped back, head low as he tamped the ground down beside Duo and lay. The fish were too small for his liking, and hardly worth the effort of trying to catch one. He was used to the bigger fish native to the cold waters of his home. These smaller, warm water fish were... ... well, smaller. Much smaller.

Even an entire basket wouldn't feed a dragon.

Well, drat.

"Hey big guy." He patted Toothless on the tail before settling back in.

"Don't lose hope. You're stuck in the same boat as all of us. No good food, separated from friends and family." He also noticed just then the attachment the end of his tail. The fin. That was artificial.

So he did have an owner. Hm.

Toothless let out a huff through his nose and closed his eyes just long enough to relax.

When he opened them, he let his gaze drift to the sky above them.

Huh. Well, that was an easy escape, wasn't it?

But what was behind those walls? That was the question. Was it an open field? Was it a mob of angry monsters? Was this castle the only safe place in a rough environment?

Toothless' tail and back end twitched when Duo touched it. He looked down at the human before looking back to the walls. He'd have to try getting over them some time. Probably after nightfall, when he truly blended in with it all.

"What happened to your tail?" Duo wondered, sitting up to look at the fin, examining the craftsmanship and lightly touching his artificial one.

"You do belong to someone, huh?" He looked up a the dragon. "Try not to break it, I don't think I can make a new one."

Toothless was patient while Duo examined the fin. It was a common occurrence that someone would ask Hiccup how the fin worked or how he made it, and he'd call the dragon over to explain.

At least with the old one, it was common. This new one, well... he hadn't had it long enough to really gain that much attention. When Duo was done, Toothless flexed his fin and pulled the entire tail around.

He half moaned, half roared ever so slightly and jutted his nose towards the rim of the walls. Did Duo know what was up there?

There was no doubt about the fact that this animal was intelligent. There was even a question, in Duo's mind, whether he was sentient and unable to speak or just a very intelligent animal.

"Would you even know if I told you? It's another world. Home is far away. Far, far away." And he didn't know if Toothless would understand, but he offered a hand to him. To comfort him. His own eyes were sad, regretful. Homesick. Maybe the thing will understand feeling instead. "Sorry."

Yes. Very intelligent. So much so, that he even had the mind to mimic things, trying to learn and communicate. He listened to the tone of Duo's voice- forlorn and almost sad. He watched the slow movements of the human. He caught the look in his eyes and the posture of his position.

Whatever was over that wall, he wasn't excited about it at all.

But the words... "home," "far away." He only wondered how far. Could he fly there? Three days back? ... some how, he doubted it. Somewhere in his big soft heart, he knew it was impossible.

He gave Duo a look that for a human might be begging for good news in a hopeless situation.

"Sorry." He said, reaching a hand out for Toothlesss if he wanted some comfort.

"I don't know what you want, pal, but at least you got some good company, I guess." He'd hang out with the dragon, even if nobody else would. Course he hoped someone could come by to manage this thing. A dragon was just a bit harder than a dog.

Was he even house trained?

Toothless rumbled lowly and rolled back against Duo's hand so that his shoulder was being touched while he pulled his tail forward and secured it to his chest with his paws. He let out a soft whine and closed his eyes.

Oh, Hiccup...

He patted Toothless's shoulder. Poor guy. Lonely as he was, he supposed. Would have to do something about that later. He just couldn't think of anything to say to him though.

"You'll be alright, big guy."

Yeah. He knew he'd be alright. He had to be alright. He had to get back to Berk, find Hiccup's lost helmet, and get home.

His human needed him, almost as much as Toothless needed his human.

"Wonder what I'm supposed to call you." Duo mused as he bathed in the sun.

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01 | Arrival | Open

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