Astrid Hofferson x Male Reader

Chapter 7

New Berk

(Hiccup has fallen asleep, book on his chest. Toothless slumbers beside him, gnawing the prosthetic leg. Suddenly, Toothless awakens, stirred by some unheard sound, and knocks Hiccup off the bed)

Hiccup: Toothless, no, it's too early...

(Toothless raises his head and twitches his ear plates, following the sound of soft, stealthy patters of feet moving through the camp. The sound of sniffing grows closer. A moonlit shadow appears on the canvas tent wall, cutting the silhouette of the Light Fury. Toothless' eyes flare excitedly and he quickly slips out of the tent flaps... only to find no one there.

Between a pair of tents, a dragon out line warbles in the moonlight like a fun-house mirror in movement. It stops, aware of Toothless' presence. The mirror effect dissipates as the Light Fury's scales cool down, leaving the two dragons staring face to face. Toothless rushes toward her, excited, but she utters a snarl, stopping him in his tracks with a "Hush, you'll wake them." He holds his pose. She slips off between the tents, disappearing from view and he follows.

He trots after her, between the tents and palettes of supplies. She lures him away, disappearing, then reappearing. As she weaves through the camp, their movements fall in sync, like a kind of dance. She leads him into the pasture beyond the camp. The moonlight plays upon her sleek body, glimmering over her rolling shoulders as she slinks through the grass like a lioness. Toothless follows, mesmerized.

 Toothless zigzags through the woods, determined not to lose the Light Fury again. Finally, he spots her coming to a landing on a sparkling lake-side beach flanked by tall, grassy bluffs. The Light Fury shakes out her wings and folds them, rolling her neck in the dim twilight of dawn.

Toothless stands at the top of the bluff, looking down at her. She turns, waiting to see what he will do. Toothless tries to look regal and composed and prepares to descend the bluff, but he immediately loses his footing on the loosely packed sand. He tumbles down the steep incline, coming to amessy landing. He pops up to his feet, shaking off the embarrassing spill. The Light Fury watches him, confused, and sits down facing him.

Meanwhile, Hiccup settles in to the bluff above where Toothless was, lying on his stomach to watch while remaining undetected. The Light Fury reattempts the invitation to the courtship dance. She settles, awaiting his move. Toothless stares, uncertain of what to do. He glances back toward Hiccup, hidden in the grass. Hiccup mimes, flapping his arms and throwing his head back.

Toothless takes the cue and flaps his wings excitedly, beaming a gleeful smile. The Light Fury is unimpressed, and grooms herself disinterestedly. Toothless looks back up at Hiccup for support. Hiccup starts to mime another wing-flapping behavior, but he steps on a twig and dives back into the grass, afraid of detection.

The Light Fury looks up toward the sound, but does not see Hiccup. She turns back to Toothless, now looking somewhat wary and suspicious. Toothless smiles awkwardly and begins to hover toward the Light Fury as she eyes him, confused. He gets a little too close and kicks up a spray of sand all over her.

Toothless glances back to Hiccup: "What now?" Hiccup tucks his thumbs in his armpits and paces, jutting his head in and out like a chicken. Toothless imitates Hiccup, clucking around the beach awkwardly. The Light Fury watches, confused by the strange display.

Seeing that it isn't working, Toothless tries a desperate medley of mating displays, each one more ridiculous than the last. Hiccup covers his eyes with his hands, cringing at Toothless' disastrous display. As Toothless nears her, she swats at his face like a cat and flaps off to a nearby tree, hanging herself inverted from its limbs. She snaps her wings closed, covering her face.