(Hiccup's POV)
Dragon training was not going well.
Hiccup limped through the forest, rubbing his shoulder where Astrid had shoved him aside during the morning's lesson. Gobber had released a Deadly Nadder into the arena that day, and the experience had gone about as well as expected.
Which meant:
Astrid had done well.
Snotlout had bragged loudly.
Fishlegs had panicked.
And Hiccup had run.
Again.
"Not the most inspiring performance," he muttered to himself as he pushed past the last line of trees.
The hidden basin opened ahead.
The waterfall trickled down the rock wall into the small pond, and the air felt cooler here than anywhere else in the forest.
And beside the pond—
Toothless.
The Night Fury lifted his head immediately when Hiccup stepped into the clearing.
Hiccup raised his hands slightly.
"Hey."
Toothless stood slowly, watching him carefully.
Hiccup reached into the small basket he carried.
"I brought more fish."
He tossed one across the clearing.
Toothless caught it easily.
Hiccup smiled.
"See? Progress."
He walked a little closer and sat down near the edge of the pond.
Toothless didn't move away this time.
Instead he settled down again a few steps away.
Hiccup pulled out his notebook.
"Alright," he said softly. "Let's try something."
He began sketching.
The shape of the dragon's head.
The wings.
The tail.
Toothless leaned forward, curious.
Every time Hiccup looked up, the dragon shifted slightly.
Every time the dragon shifted, Hiccup adjusted the drawing.
"You're very hard to draw," he said.
Toothless snorted.
Then suddenly leaned forward and licked the page.
The charcoal smeared instantly.
Hiccup stared.
"You licked it."
Toothless blinked innocently.
Hiccup sighed and flipped the page.
"Okay. New strategy."
He began drawing again.
But this time he paid attention to more than just the shape of the dragon.
He watched the movements.
The ears.
The tail.
The way the wings shifted when the dragon relaxed.
Every movement meant something.
"Body language," Hiccup murmured as he sketched.
Toothless tilted his head.
Hiccup flipped the notebook around to show the drawing.
The dragon sniffed the page again.
Hiccup quickly pulled it away.
"Not this time."
Above the clearing, hidden among the branches overlooking the pond, another dragon watched.
The bat-winged dragon rested along a thick branch high in the trees.
Her enormous ears rotated slowly as she listened.
Below, the Night Fury and the human sat quietly beside the pond.
Neither attacked.
Neither fled.
The human made drawings.
The Night Fury studied them.
The bat-dragon's tail flicked slowly.
It was… strange.
Not quite dominance.
Not quite submission.
Something closer to curiosity.
Below, Hiccup turned another page and started drawing again.
"Okay," he said. "Let's see what happens when you do this."
He leaned forward slightly and reached toward Toothless.
The dragon's body tensed instantly.
Hiccup stopped.
"Right. Too fast."
He backed his hand away slowly.
The dragon relaxed again.
Hiccup scribbled something in the notebook.
"Good to know."
Toothless flicked his tail.
Hiccup watched carefully.
Then wrote again.
"Tail flick… irritation."
Above them, the bat-winged dragon's ears twitched.
The human was studying the dragon the same way she studied animals.
Watching behavior.
Testing reactions.
Learning.
Below, Hiccup tossed another fish.
Toothless caught it.
Then suddenly the dragon stiffened.
Its head snapped toward the forest edge.
Hiccup looked up.
"What?"
Toothless stood.
Wings slightly spread.
A low warning rumble rolled through his chest.
Hiccup turned slowly toward the trees.
Something was moving out there.
High above them, hidden in the canopy—
The bat-winged dragon had moved.
And for the first time since Hiccup arrived—
Toothless had noticed.