Merlin stayed where he was for a few minutes longer, still not entirely sure if he should try that approach again so soon. Amalthea had been a bit more welcoming, but he couldn't assume the same for all the other magical creatures here in this 'Somarium
( ... )
Well, he was feeding him. The friendship was kind of obvious.
"Huh. For a guy who's not used to dragons getting along with humans, you seem pretty calm about this." Hiccup was accustomed to people being afraid of Toothless first, and then realizing he wasn't going to hurt them, rather than anyone being comfortable with him right off the bat. "... Then again, I shouldn't be talking."
He jerked forward slightly as he was nudged. He looked back at the dragon pushing him, and he put a hand on the dragon's snout. "What? You're not still hungry, are you?"
Okay...he caught that hint even without Toothless speaking to him. Now he was torn. On the one hand, Toothless really wanted him to tell Hiccup that they could communicate and that kind of WAS exciting news, since Merlin might be some kind of translator or whatever for them in the future but...
On the other hand he might just sound crazy and possibly be called out on being a sorcerer, and/or a Dragonlord, even if Hiccup likely had no idea what the hell that was.
He didn't want the dragon to be mad at him though, he could use his help in the future if need be. So he didn't want to end up on bad terms.
"Well..." he started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I guess you could say I had a feeling about him." that was stupid, let's try that again, "I can understand him, you know?" Please catch that hint, Hiccup.
Toothless made a distinctive purring sound from behind Hiccup, keeping his face pressed against the boy's side. Nope, quite sated with those fish, we're just enjoying your company. He peered around the boy to look at Merlin, letting the wizard take his time. He supposed it was kind of a strange thing, to be able to speak to dragons. Without actually speaking, even.
When he commented that he could understand Toothless, the Night Fury nuzzled his way up under Hiccup's arm, as though to emphasize the point. He nodded a few times, looking from Merlin to Hiccup. The dragon may have not been the best at playing charades most days, but he was making a valiant effort to get this point across. When Merlin said he could understand him, he meant it.
Italics = magical dragon speakmagicalderpOctober 19 2010, 01:51:05 UTC
Well that didn't work.
Merlin turned to Toothless, and spoke in that telepathic tongue now; " I can't risk Arthur finding out about my magic. Are you...are you sure Hiccup wouldn't tell anyone about this?" He was paranoid. He really didn't want to lose his close friend because of anything related to magic.
He just laughed at Hiccup's herpderp'ing, "Well I guess I'm special then, huh?"
Toothless faltered when Hiccup misunderstood. He supposed that the way Merlin phrased it wasn't at blatant as "I can speak to your dragon", but it still gave the dragon a vague desire to smack his snout against the earth for a few moments. Instead, he whuffed, slightly indignantly, but made certain to love liberally upon his boy. He wasn't replacing you, Hiccup, don't ever think that. You are his best friend, for now and forever, and the first and only human this Night Fury will ever claim as his own. He just thought it was freakin' cool that he could talk to Merlin.
The dragon turned his eyes to Merlin, then, contemplating his hesitance. It made sense, he supposed. Merlin's magic, Toothless figured, was likely somewhat akin to Hiccup's Dragon Training. If Stoick had found out... well, when Stoick found out, even. It hadn't been pretty. But Toothless trusted Hiccup for all that he was. He smiled at the wizard. If you ask him to keep it quiet, he will. He's an amazingly smart boy.
Good to know that Toothless still thinks he's smart, even after that.
But now he's just looking between the two... What were they staring at each other for? Why did it seem like they were doing more then looking at each other? I mean, they were just... standing there. Toothless must be really interested in this guy, because that would be the only thing that could hold his attention away from his food for this long.
He's looking at them both with one eyebrow raised, seeming pretty confused.
Merlin swallowed past the forming lump in his throat, and he could already feel his palms start to sweat. Why was he so nervous around a kid he just met? Probably because he never had to do anything quite like this before. He gave Toothless another wary look, then finally nodded before he set his gaze on Hiccup.
"Okay..." he inhaled deeply, speaking on the exhale in a quiet tone, "You have to promise not to tell anyone once I tell you, okay?" Then there was another long pause,
"I can talk to Toothless," he waved his hand a bit, "Like you and I are talking now? I can do that with him." He glanced at the dragon, and this time instead of speaking telepathically he said "Right Toothless?" In that odd dragon tongue.
You had your moments, Hiccup, and common sense and intelligence didn't always go hand-in-hand, nor did social skills or the ability to stop rambling incessantly when you should have stopped talking twenty-seven words ago, but you are most assuredly a rambling genius.
Of course, given the populace of folks you're most commonly compared to, that might not be much of a compliment. Toothless certainly meant it strongly, though.
When Merlin spoke to him, Toothless spoke back, nodding and then looking to Hiccup to ensure he understood. "Right," he said to Merlin, and then nudged the side of his face up against Hiccup. Come on, buddy. He can talk to me. Maybe he can teach you. If nothing else he can translate. I can talk to you, now, in a sense.
Hiccup turned his head to the side while still looking at Merlin, skeptical, wondering just what all of this lead up Merlin was leading on was going to turn into. By now, he'd caught on that there was definitely something weird going on between the two of them. Even with all of Merlin's nervousness, and the hesitation, Hiccup never would have guessed what he was about to hear.
"... What?" ... The second Merlin finally spit it out, Hiccup's eyes went wide. Even as Merlin continued, he barely reacted, he just listened. For a few seconds, Hiccup almost forgot he was standing in front of someone as his mind tried to make sense of just what he was hearing. Finally, he snapped out of it, bringing his hands up and throwing a quick look between the dragon and this new strange boy who just claimed something totally impossible.
"But--! What do you--! You can't really---" He babbled, speaking and having no idea what he was even really saying, just in general, he was completely baffled. "How?!"
Was it sad that he expected that reaction? Probably. But really, Merlin didn't just go about announcing his Dragonlord talents, or anything concerning his magic. Not as much as he had done here. He couldn't really hide it though, Hiccup already looked skeptical and he was just kind of...staring at the dragon. Weird.
"It's hard to explain," but not really, "It's something passed down from my father I only learned about recently. but I can understand him, uh..." how could he prove this. "No one says you have to believe me, but...maybe I can help you and Toothless talk to each other?" okay, just going to back away now before Hiccup has a heart attack.
Toothless nudged his nose gently against Hiccup's ribcage, trying to convince the boy to calm down. It was okay, Hiccup, it weirded us out at first, too. It's weird, but it's cool, we promise. He grabbed the side of the boy's tunic between his gums and tugged on it a little.
Glancing to the side at Merlin, Hiccup's tunic still between his gums, Toothless muttered after him "Don't go anywhere, he's just a little excited,". Because he was, right? That's all it was. Hiccup would get used to it. It would be okay. Right?
As Toothless made sure to nudge Hiccup, he looked down at the dragon's face... For once, he could tell a lot more about what Toothless was trying to do then he usually did. He knew that Toothless understood him, and he knew that right now, he was trying to support what Merlin was saying, and in some way, he was saying that Hiccup should listen to him.
"... You're serious?" He seemed pretty serious already, but Hiccup was still a little dumbstruck by the information. "Have you guys been talking to each other this whole time?"
It didn't seem likely, since they had been silent the whole time, but...
When Toothless told him to stay, he did. Merlin was just so ridiculously nervous. Is this how he was going to feel when he finally told Arthur that he used magic? Like he was trapped? This was a really watered down version of how he would assume the prince would act. He didn't know, but he managed a small smile at least when Hiccup asked if he was serious.
"Yes," he nodded as if to emphasize his answer, "We--well we've said a few things. I can speak with him out loud and in my head. It doesn't matter..." he shrugged, "It's kind of hard to explain. But I'm serious...believe me I couldn't make this up even if I wanted to." he didn't want to.
Toothless made a pleased crooning sound, making and keeping eye contact with his boy. He was glad Hiccup seemed to calming down and listening-- it was a lot to take in, he supposed, but Hiccup wasn't an insensible boy. Not by any stretch. A little crazy at times, like when he decided to cut Toothless free, but obviously the Night Fury wasn't complaining. He nudged the teenager's ribcage again.
Toothless let his eyes drift between the two boys. On one hand, his boy. Thin as a rail, smarter than Toothless could probably analogize, haphazard hair, a crooked smile, and the biggest heart he'd ever found in a Viking. Not that he'd really found many hearts amongst Vikings. On the other, Merlin. Also thin as a rail, comparably smart from what Toothless could tell, a little skittish, but with just about as much heart. They had enough in common, except one of them could talk to dragons and the other trained them. Toothless suddenly felt vaguely as though his life prior to meeting Hiccup had been spent living under a rock.
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"Huh. For a guy who's not used to dragons getting along with humans, you seem pretty calm about this." Hiccup was accustomed to people being afraid of Toothless first, and then realizing he wasn't going to hurt them, rather than anyone being comfortable with him right off the bat. "... Then again, I shouldn't be talking."
He jerked forward slightly as he was nudged. He looked back at the dragon pushing him, and he put a hand on the dragon's snout. "What? You're not still hungry, are you?"
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On the other hand he might just sound crazy and possibly be called out on being a sorcerer, and/or a Dragonlord, even if Hiccup likely had no idea what the hell that was.
He didn't want the dragon to be mad at him though, he could use his help in the future if need be. So he didn't want to end up on bad terms.
"Well..." he started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I guess you could say I had a feeling about him." that was stupid, let's try that again, "I can understand him, you know?" Please catch that hint, Hiccup.
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When he commented that he could understand Toothless, the Night Fury nuzzled his way up under Hiccup's arm, as though to emphasize the point. He nodded a few times, looking from Merlin to Hiccup. The dragon may have not been the best at playing charades most days, but he was making a valiant effort to get this point across. When Merlin said he could understand him, he meant it.
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"It usually takes him at least a little while to open up like that to anyone... Or a little fish. He must like you a lot then."
Unfortunately for Merlin, his hint just went straight over Hiccup's head.
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Merlin turned to Toothless, and spoke in that telepathic tongue now; " I can't risk Arthur finding out about my magic. Are you...are you sure Hiccup wouldn't tell anyone about this?" He was paranoid. He really didn't want to lose his close friend because of anything related to magic.
He just laughed at Hiccup's herpderp'ing, "Well I guess I'm special then, huh?"
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The dragon turned his eyes to Merlin, then, contemplating his hesitance. It made sense, he supposed. Merlin's magic, Toothless figured, was likely somewhat akin to Hiccup's Dragon Training. If Stoick had found out... well, when Stoick found out, even. It hadn't been pretty. But Toothless trusted Hiccup for all that he was. He smiled at the wizard. If you ask him to keep it quiet, he will. He's an amazingly smart boy.
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But now he's just looking between the two... What were they staring at each other for? Why did it seem like they were doing more then looking at each other? I mean, they were just... standing there. Toothless must be really interested in this guy, because that would be the only thing that could hold his attention away from his food for this long.
He's looking at them both with one eyebrow raised, seeming pretty confused.
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"Okay..." he inhaled deeply, speaking on the exhale in a quiet tone, "You have to promise not to tell anyone once I tell you, okay?" Then there was another long pause,
"I can talk to Toothless," he waved his hand a bit, "Like you and I are talking now? I can do that with him." He glanced at the dragon, and this time instead of speaking telepathically he said "Right Toothless?" In that odd dragon tongue.
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Of course, given the populace of folks you're most commonly compared to, that might not be much of a compliment. Toothless certainly meant it strongly, though.
When Merlin spoke to him, Toothless spoke back, nodding and then looking to Hiccup to ensure he understood. "Right," he said to Merlin, and then nudged the side of his face up against Hiccup. Come on, buddy. He can talk to me. Maybe he can teach you. If nothing else he can translate. I can talk to you, now, in a sense.
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"... What?" ... The second Merlin finally spit it out, Hiccup's eyes went wide. Even as Merlin continued, he barely reacted, he just listened. For a few seconds, Hiccup almost forgot he was standing in front of someone as his mind tried to make sense of just what he was hearing. Finally, he snapped out of it, bringing his hands up and throwing a quick look between the dragon and this new strange boy who just claimed something totally impossible.
"But--! What do you--! You can't really---" He babbled, speaking and having no idea what he was even really saying, just in general, he was completely baffled. "How?!"
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"It's hard to explain," but not really, "It's something passed down from my father I only learned about recently. but I can understand him, uh..." how could he prove this. "No one says you have to believe me, but...maybe I can help you and Toothless talk to each other?" okay, just going to back away now before Hiccup has a heart attack.
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Glancing to the side at Merlin, Hiccup's tunic still between his gums, Toothless muttered after him "Don't go anywhere, he's just a little excited,". Because he was, right? That's all it was. Hiccup would get used to it. It would be okay. Right?
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"... You're serious?" He seemed pretty serious already, but Hiccup was still a little dumbstruck by the information. "Have you guys been talking to each other this whole time?"
It didn't seem likely, since they had been silent the whole time, but...
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"Yes," he nodded as if to emphasize his answer, "We--well we've said a few things. I can speak with him out loud and in my head. It doesn't matter..." he shrugged, "It's kind of hard to explain. But I'm serious...believe me I couldn't make this up even if I wanted to." he didn't want to.
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Toothless let his eyes drift between the two boys. On one hand, his boy. Thin as a rail, smarter than Toothless could probably analogize, haphazard hair, a crooked smile, and the biggest heart he'd ever found in a Viking. Not that he'd really found many hearts amongst Vikings. On the other, Merlin. Also thin as a rail, comparably smart from what Toothless could tell, a little skittish, but with just about as much heart. They had enough in common, except one of them could talk to dragons and the other trained them. Toothless suddenly felt vaguely as though his life prior to meeting Hiccup had been spent living under a rock.
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