Not what you know

[no_eels]

Who: Toothless & open
Where: Anywhere!
When: Anytime during the AU event.
Rating: G for now
Summary: A viking never made friends with a dragon. A harness was never made. (Catch-all!)
The Story:

To Toothless, everything was as it always had been. He woke up in his cave-shaped room, had a drink from the small pool of water in it, and then left to go skulk his way to the kitchen. The Night Fury's tail was finless on one side, as it had always been since his encounter with the Thing That Had Torn Him Out of the Sky. He had survived his being trapped in the small valley by scrambling desperately with his claws for days and days. The Viking had not come back since cutting him out of the Terrible Thing.

While he had been grateful at being set free (Vikings killed dragons; that was just how it worked), Toothless had needed to get back to the other dragons. But that hadn't been possible. He had lacked the ability to fly, and had been stuck on the island. If not for his suddenly appearing in this place, the Night Fury is certain that the other Vikings would have eventually found him and killed him.

One or two Vikings, perhaps, aren't that bad, but he hasn't been willing to risk much contact. He runs by quickly, finds empty hallways, goes into the kitchen for food when no one else is there (not an easy feat). When he's full of fish, he goes outside and wanders. His heart yearns for the sky, and he only returns to the mansion late at night when most of the Vikings are settled for the evening.

He's lonely. But he's not ready to admit it.

Comments

[geneticallyscrewed]

Henry is also outside and notices the dragon. The dragon who lives next door to him and hasn't get eaten him. He knows he should be glad but this place is such a bore. There's no one really from home except his mom and their relationship isn't the best in the world. Some days he wonders what could have been but today, he's sitting on a bench looking bored.

After watching Toothless for a while, Henry decides to approach him. Staying back so as not to frighten him, but coming close enough to be heard, he speaks cautiously.

"Hi. My name's Henry. I live next door to you in the mansion." He shrugged a little, waiting to see what the dragon would do.

[no_eels]

Toothless, snuffling his nose in the grass, looks up at Henry with suspicion gleaming in his green eyes. He doesn't move from where he is, tail moving slowly from side to side, but he doesn't wander away, either. It's not every day that a Viking talks to him. He continues to watch the little Viking, scanning him for signs of hostile body language — or weapons.

[geneticallyscrewed]

Henry's got nothing on him except his communicator and that's certainly not a weapon. He's also not standing like the other Vikings do when they want to attack. Seeing the suspicion in his eyes, Henry steps back a little, very unsure.

"I don't want to hurt you. I'm just curious...because I see you around. That's all."

[no_eels]

At the words, and at the stepping back, the dragon considers and then sits down. He regards the little Viking with more curiosity, now, though still wary — Vikings can be unpredictable, and Toothless doesn't have the option of flying away. Not long flight, at least — essentially, it's gliding.

He blinks, taking him in, cocking his head to the side.

[geneticallyscrewed]

Seeing Toothless sit gave Henry a little more hope. Maybe he could have a friend here. He smiles and sits down as well, crossing his legs to try and show he's comfortable and not about to jump up and attack.

"I'm going to guess you have a name but you can't tell me. Maybe I could figure it out. Not sure how you could explain though." This was going to take longer than he thought. But surely it was worth while.

[pottershotter]

James has been visiting the kitchen at odd hours lately. There are people he would rather not run into, even by accident, so he's been going when he's relatively sure no one will be around. Like the middle of the night, for example. Whatever is going on (since it must be an event if everyone is acting so strangely, right?) doesn't seem dangerous, so it's perfectly reasonable to sneak off to the kitchens in the middle of the night, right? Right. Absolutely.

He's not the greatest cook in the world, so he's just making himself a sandwich, but he freezes when he hears a noise behind him. He's not alone in the kitchen.

"...Hello? Is someone there?"

[no_eels]

Toothless freezes when he hears James call out. Generally, late at night, Vikings aren't to be found in the kitchen. Only a few freak occurrences — and it looks like he's found such an occurrence. He'd been careless, walking in without taking a sniff first for the scent of a Viking, and now he was paying the price for it. Warily, the Night Fury ducks behind the table not too far away. It's dark, and he's pitch black, but dragons such as Toothless aren't exactly miniscule.

[pottershotter]

Nothing answers him, but he hears something move - near the table somewhere? He freezes for a moment, much like a deer might. He watches and waits and only when nothing happens immediately does he approach.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

Veeery slowly and - oh Merlin, that's a dragon isn't it?

The realization startles James a bit, and he immediately moves back a couple of feet. But the panic vanishes eventually, as the situation sinks in. Whatever it is, it's rather small for a dragon (or at least a dragon from his world - the sort of dragons he's heard about would nearly fill the whole room). He doesn't recognize the type at all, but assumes it must be a baby. Either that or it's a very large lizard, but no, it has wings, that is most definitely a dragon. But it ran to hide - maybe it's afraid? If it was going to gnaw his limbs off, James is certain it would have done so by now.

(Also, were circumstances a bit more normal, he might remember meeting this dragon once before, when he was a little more stagly. However, that ability is something James has rarely used in Wonderland, as far as he currently remembers. It's mostly a painful reminder of friends who are long gone.)

So, cautiously, he crouches down to appear smaller, and watches this dragon. He waits to see what it does, and doesn't make any more sudden movements.

[no_eels]

A green, wide stare is what meets James' gaze. That the Viking didn't flee or reach for anything weapon-shaped is comforting, but Toothless isn't willing to run. He came for food; he's hungry, and he's determined to get it. Rumbling uncertainly in the back of his throat, the Night Fury slowly steps to the side of the table and then stops again.

Waiting to see what the reaction is, his gaze tracks quickly to the fridge and then back to James.

Vikings make him nervous. They're unpredictable. The scrawny one had cut him free rather than kill him, but he knows that most Vikings would sooner kill a dragon than anything else.

[pottershotter]

James slowly follows the dragon's gaze (hesitantly - he'd rather not be burnt to a crisp while he wasn't paying attention) to the fridge, and something that should have clicked much earlier suddenly snaps into place.

"...You're hungry, aren't you?"

He doesn't know if the dragon will actually understand him or not, but it sounds like a reasonable explanation. Why else would he be in the kitchen? It's a free food source, and he seems like a clever enough dragon for that.

Slowly, James rises and moves towards the fridge, and opens the door. And he holds it open, and looks back at the dragon. Was there something in there he wanted? What do dragons even eat?

[crybabybootleg]

Jacuzzi's getting ready to do some serious construction work for Oncler's factory scheme. This is the first time he's reallty had a go at... building buildings so he's pretty nervous. But the closet supplied him with a toolbox and a sturdy pair of Levi's and workboots, so now's the time to suck it up and tell himself it's practice for when he goes home and gets a proper honest job.

So off he goes down the stairs, trying to whistle cheerfully, and not to be scared of heights, or frightened about using forklifts or jackhammers, and... that's when he sees a flash of tail and claw, rounding a corner.

Jacuzzi's eyes go wide with fear, and he drops the toolbox with a clatter, scrambling to pop it open and get himself a large wrench for defense.

[no_eels]

Toothless jolts at the sudden, loud noise, sinking down almost to his stomach and whirling around. A tremor of trepidation rolls under his black scales as he, very slowly, inches until he can see the cause of the noise. It's a Viking, of course — he wishes there were real dragons, here. The Night Fury makes a note of the wrench in his hands and his green eyes narrow to suspicious slits, but he doesn't move from where he is. He's waiting to see what Jacuzzi does, first.

[crybabybootleg]

Upon seeing the slightest hint of black and one green eye, peering around the corner, Jacuzzi makes a garbled sound of fear and raises his wrench protectively over his head, though his knees look about to buckle and he's quivering so hard head to foot that he almost seems about to cry.

"P-please go away. J-just please. Dinosaur, dragon... whatever you are. I- I I'm really scared now. Don't eat me!"

[no_eels]

Ah. So not a particularly fierce or capable Viking, then, and not one who even has food. The black dragon regards Jacuzzi with suspicion for a long, long moment before his gaze tracks to the wrench. He'll either use it, or drop it, if Toothless comes any closer, the Night Fury is sure. Toothless isn't thinking highly of the man's skills with it, but it could hurt nevertheless. It looks substantial.

Snorting quietly, eyes narrowed, Toothless continues to move the way he was going — still watching the Viking out of the corner of his eye. It's not worth it to tangle with a frightened Viking. They're unpredictable, and Toothless is hungry.

[crybabybootleg]

He very seriously contemplates turning and running, with just about every awkward, terrifying second that passes as that evil-looking eye and half a scaly face size him up.

What a way to make a last stand! Quavering like even more of a coward than he was aboard the Flying Pussyfoot.

And then, after that moment that feels like forever, the dragon turns and goes. The young man deflates, arms hanging at his sides, dropping his head dejectedly.

He'll never find the nerve to face down anything and put up a decent fight!

[moral_turnover]

Regina had been returned from the stables late that night. Though to her, nothing seemed out of the norm. The halls were as quiet as ever at this hour, and everyone seemed to be tucked away in their rooms as the moon hung high in the sky. But this night was a tad off, compared to the last.

Having stepped away from the stair case upon landing on the third floor, she noticed something down along the hall walking away from her. At first, she thought it was just her eyes playing tricks upon her. But upon better focusing, she saw just what it was. Or what it seemed to be.

"A dragon..?" She spoke to herself, though she wasn't as quiet as she had hoped to be. She covered her mouth quickly, hoping it didn't hear her.

[no_eels]

Toothless, having himself a late-night prowl, just happened to be on the alert — he was closer to buildings that the Vikings used, and caution was necessary. He heard the quiet words behind him, blinking, and turned to look at Regina. Though his body language was cautious, there wasn't anything very hostile just yet. Most Vikings were running away from him. He stood there, watching, ears forward, and waited to see what Regina would do.

[moral_turnover]

Regina had to suppress the urge to jump when it had turned to look at her. She stood perfectly still, thinking of what her next move would be. She knew some magic. Enough that she could immobilize the creature and make a dash for her room. But maybe she didn't have to resort to such measures? After all, who's to say it wouldn't just break her door down in retaliation? Or that her magic would even work on the thing.

"Hello there..."

She mentally scolded herself. Really? Of all the things she could say? Then again, dragons were rare to come by, even in her world. But she decided to leave it at that, even if it was just to see if the creature could understand her.

[no_eels]

The Night Fury regarded Regina carefully, his mind not made up about leaving or staying, before slowly sitting down. No weapons yet. That was a good sign. Perhaps if he just sat here, she would feel safe enough to move on. He wished no ill on the Vikings of the mansion, for all they made him nervous. A Viking had saved him from the thing that had knocked him out of the sky. Maybe they weren't all so bad.

His body language was more relaxed as he rumbled deep in the back of his throat, still cautious, eyes widening.

[moral_turnover]

Needless to say it took Regina a moment to compose herself, slowly gathering up the will to move from her rooted spot. But move she did, albeit slowly. She walked along the wall, that was until she got closer to the dragon. She couldn't help but be cautious, eyeing the beast nervously before she came to a stop.

Would it really be willing to allow her to walk right through?

"Do you live here..? With the rest of us..?"

[longdau]

Lin is out and about when night falls. He is alone as intended and glances about, hand on the hilt of his sword. Once he determines there to be no spectators in the vicinity, he unsheathes the weapon and takes a measured swing. It is still somewhat heavy for him, the curve of the blade doing him no favor, and the reminder of his physical ineptitude draws a glower.

In the midst of another stroke, he senses movement and whirls on his heels, alert. His eyes have adjusted to the darkness, but there is much his human vision cannot see.

"Who's there!" he demands, his words low and warning.

[no_eels]

A Viking — and a Viking with a sword, at that. Toothless freezes in place, skulking just beyond a hedge. Nighttime is when Night Furies, naturally, are at their best, and his black scales blend in perfectly with the darkness. Peering through the hedge, he waits to see what the Viking is up to.

[longdau]

"Reveal yourself, and I may reconsider the consequences," he demands, sword poised to strike in the event he is attacked. He has taken the head of a man before; he can do it again.

Lin does not believe anyone here has reason to confront him in this manner, but he will not risk becoming the fool. Once the second warning is issued, he takes a deliberate step forward, challenging the watcher to come out and face him.

[no_eels]

Toothless lets out a quiet snort of warm air, unsure and slightly derisive at the same time. Is this Viking really wanting to challenge him? Aren't the grounds for all who live in the mansion? The Night Fury thinks a moment longer before, with a rumble, he launches himself over the hedge.

He can't fly long distances, but he can fly over a shrub at least — and he does, landing in the grass, body language alert. Large green eyes look Lin over with a mixture of curiosity and scorn. He isn't in the mood for a fight, but, like all of his kind, Toothless is confident of his ability to win against Vikings.

[longdau]

When it jumps over the shrub, Lin sees the thing for what it is, whereupon he lowers the sword partway in surprise, losing his offensive stance.

"A wyvern?"

A mighty, powerful beast. And here is he, thin and better as a scholar than a warrior. Lin nonetheless tightens his grip on the hilt, should the creature attack. He does not know how feral it is.

"I didn't expect to find one of your kind here. This place is a human settlement by and large," he says, testing for a reaction and watching warily.