A corner of the Preserve, Friday morning

[abitlegless]

Hiccup was in the Preserve because it was what he did in the mornings: went into the woods to visit the dragon

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[abitlegless]

Toothless watched Hiccup from his perch on the rock, eyes narrowed, tail twitching like an irritated metronome.

[abitlegless]

Hiccup backed up a step, away from the dragon, and his metal foot caught on a tree root, making him stumble. He went down on his good knee, hard, but kept his eyes fixed on Toothless.

[abitlegless]

When Hiccup fell, Toothless began stalking towards him, head low, looking very unfriendly.

[abitlegless]

Hiccup returned the look with interest and raised the stick like a club, scrambling to get back up.

“Get away!” He swung the stick at Toothless. “Go on, get lost!”

[abitlegless]

Toothless drew in a breath, reared back, and let loose a fireball. It passed inches above Hiccup’s head and turned a rock into a pile of slag.

[abitlegless]

Golden eyes met brown as dragon and boy glared at each other, then Toothless bounded off into the trees. Hiccup watched him go, fingers clenched around the stick, then he hurled it after the dragon.