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Hiccup Haddock tossed the cod forward into the open, onto the mossy ground of the cove. Hiding behind his shield, he watched and listened with a healthy dose of fear. Slightly embarrassed and annoyed, he realized the fish hadn’t made it very far, thanks of course to his distinctly below-average arms, and the more he watched, the more it seemed evident that his offering had gone unnoticed.
He peeked around the boulders that kept him hidden. Nothing. Maybe the Night Fury had finally gone after all? …Or maybe it was hiding as well? Eyes scanning nervously over the rocky landscape, Hiccup started forward. But it seemed the gods were still insistent on toying with him.
The scrawny Viking ran into his shield with a slight start. In the latest of a series of unlucky turns, it seemed he had managed to unwittingly wedge his shield perfectly between two boulders, blocking his own path. He tugged it backwards a few times, but it wouldn’t budge. Ducking down, he passed underneath and tried tugging from the other side. Still, it wouldn’t budge.
Typical, Hiccup thought with a pessimistic frown. He turned away from the shield and eyed the fish again, realizing that unless he wanted to turn back, he’d have to continue without protection. If he were being honest with himself, he doubted his shield would have done him much good anyway.
He walked forward and picked up the cod by the gills, then continued on into the open cove, one slow step at a time, looking around fearfully at the towering rock walls he’d surrounded himself with.
Here dragon, dragon, dragon… Come on… where are you? Hiccup asked himself nervously, not daring to make the calls out loud.
A barely audible grumble to his left made his eyes grow wide. He turned, slowly, hoping on some level that his ears were just playing some horrible trick on him. They weren’t.
*gasp*!
There it was, the Night Fury. It was perched up on a rock, watching him with a piercing gaze, its wings partially extended. It looked ready to pounce, to tackle him to the ground and pin him like it had before, and this time it was liable to do more than just roar in his face.
Oh gods! What was I thinking!?
But it didn’t pounce. It approached him, slowly and suspiciously, dismounting the rock in a series of small hops. It circled him ninety degrees; Hiccup backed away instinctively. The black dragon sniffed the air and then gave a sharp, threatening growl. It definitely didn’t seem happy to see him. But maybe the fish could change that? …Or at least make his death less likely?
Oh, please take the fish.
Nervously, Hiccup extended his arm, presenting his offering. He could feel muscles tightening everywhere, as if the rest of his body knew better and was trying to pull away even as his arm went forward.
The Night Fury eyed him with fierce suspicion, but took note of the cod. Sniffing a few more times, it slowly began to approach, and its gaze- to Hiccup’s great relief- started becoming slightly softer as it did. He leaned forward. The dragon made an almost appreciative warble and opened its mouth, holding its head at an angle, looking as if it were about to take the food.
And then suddenly there came a fierce snarl and the beast pulled back, eyes narrowing to slits. Hiccup tugged his arm to his chest with alarm, but quickly realized that the Night Fury was no longer looking at the fish, or at his face, but at his waist. Hastily, he pushed open his vest and glanced down at his belt.
My knife, Hiccup realized. The dragon must have caught a glimpse of it. He looked back at the black beast. It held in an aggressive stance, head down, wings raised, angry glare locked on the metallic blade. The message was clear: lose the knife.
He reached for the weapon to remove it, but then hesitated. It was the only defense he had left at that point, could he really afford to just throw it away?
The Night Fury, seeing his hesitation, snarled fiercely.
Hiccup suddenly got the idea that he was much safer without the knife. Slowly, the anxious Viking took the weapon lightly by its handle, held it out to arm’s length, and then dropped it to the rocky ground.
The dragon snorted, a bit less aggressively, and made a gesture with its snout. Hiccup obeyed, scooping up the dagger with the tip of his boot and then kicking it away into the nearby pond, completely out of reach.
At that, the stance and overall demeanor of the dragon suddenly changed. It lowered its looming wings and stared at him with what seemed to be a bit of surprise.
It worked, Hiccup thought, with a bit of surprise himself. He definitely seems to have calmed down. Maybe now if I…
Hiccup extended his offering once more, hopefully. The dragon focused on it again. Slowly, cautiously, but not aggressively, the Night Fury started stepping closer.
That’s it… that’s it… Wow, I can’t believe it, is this actually working?
The black dragon opened its mouth, gradually reaching toward the fish. Its eyes continued to flick back and forth, between the cod and the human holding it. Hiccup gazed down in fascination as the large, scaly head grew close, jaws wider than his shoulders.
I can’t believe it. This is incredible.
The Viking’s eye was caught by the vivid red of the dragon’s gums, now just a hand’s length away. To his surprise, he noticed something distinctly missing,
“Huh, toothless… I coulda sworn you had-”
Out of nowhere, the dragon’s head shot upwards, shifting from the cod to the Haddock. The boy’s heart plunged as his entire view was suddenly eclipsed by vivid red walls, and then blackness as he felt the slimy confines of the Night Fury’s mouth close over his head.
“Oh no! No no no no NO!”
Hiccup began to flail around as he felt the dragon’s jaws move up over his chest with a series of jerks.
*glurk*
Hiccup’s eyes bulged wide. That had been a swallow. He’d felt himself slip over the dragon’s tongue; his face now pressed up against the inner walls of the beast’s throat.
Oh gods! It’s EATING me! OH GODS!
It didn’t take long. Hiccup was not an especially big Viking. It only took a matter of seconds before he felt the great jaws lift him clean off the ground, the toothless gums gripping him tightly around his belly until he was completely upside down. And then the dragon released, and he slid, quickly and cleanly, a nice, plump bulge down the black, scaly neck and into the belly of the beast.
Hiccup entered the stomach swiftly, knocking tiny puddles of liquid aside with a splash as he was packed against the tight, squishy walls. The dragon’s throat sealed up behind him with a squelch. He started wriggling immediately, trying to right himself and find a place to put his mouth that wasn’t full of slime. Everything jiggled with him as he moved, squishing and splattering and even gurgling on occasion, until he eventually managed to settle, curled up into a ball with his back pressed against the bottom of the dragon’s belly, and his hands and legs providing just a smidge of breathing room.
No sooner had the boy settled, than he heard a happy, satisfied rumble from the dragon around him.
“No! You were supposed to eat the fish! Not me!”
He felt the dragon take a step, heard its lungs flutter as it sniffed, and then heard a distinct *gulp*. A moment later, he felt the vague shape of a fish slide against his legs as it too was packed into the beast’s gut.
“Just the fish!” Hiccup insisted. He waited for some kind of reply, and when none came he scolded himself. What am I doing!? Am I seriously trying to talk my way out of a dragon’s stomach!? Ugh!! How did I get myself into this mess!? A lesser Viking might have devolved into panic, and the boy wasn’t too far off, but he held fast to his senses.
“Okay, Hiccup, focus,” he muttered to himself, with his signature tone of ingenuity in his voice. If there were ever a time to be clever or inventive, this was it. “I’ve got to try and find something useful.”
He shifted his arms around- quite awkwardly in the confined space- and set his hands against the slime-coated walls of the Night Fury’s stomach. He felt along the fleshy surface, trying to get a sense of his surroundings. But the picture he began building in his head was far from encouraging. A little runt of a Viking, packed tight into a slimy, dark enclosure, buried deep within a dragon’s guts. The hopelessness of the situation started to sink in.
And then suddenly, the beast began to vibrate around him. He stopped moving, surprised.
Did that sound… happy?
His curiosity getting the better of him, he started rubbing against the stomach walls again. Within a few seconds, that same rumble returned, almost like the purring of a cat- a huge, boulder-sized, man-eating cat. He stopped, and just as he did, so did the vibrations.
“Do you… like that?” Hiccup asked aloud.
He heard the dragon make an inquisitive sound, as if it too was confused and intrigued by this new discovery. Suddenly, the walls contracted around him sharply, squeezing him even tighter before releasing him just as abruptly. And then the dragon made another noise, sort of an encouraging chirp.
“Okay, okay!” Hiccup replied. He put his hands back against the insides of the dragon’s belly and continued to rub. The satisfied purr returned to vibrate his fleshy prison, even louder now.
Great, so not only have I been eaten alive, but now he won’t even let me die in peace.
Still, the little Viking kept at his task, if only to stave off the crushing force of the dragon’s belly just a little longer. And still, even under these circumstances, his eager mind couldn’t help but notice things. He could feel the outlines of various other organs above and around him, particularly the lungs as they steadily swelled and shrank. And there seemed to be just enough room for him to reach most of the stomach’s surface if he pushed the stretchy walls to accommodate. He realized, with a sense of morbid irony, that he was the perfect sized Viking for the job. Any normal-sized resident of his village would’ve been too big to move around in the oppressive stomach. Of course, they also might have been too big to be swallowed whole in the first place.
Oh, and one more very pertinent thing: there were certain spots that his draconic captor really seemed to enjoy having rubbed. And by Odin did that dragon sound satisfied. The symphony of purrs and happy warbles was more than loud enough to drown out the menacing gurgles that leaked from the squishy depths.
Of course, it couldn’t last forever. Before too long, Hiccup felt his arms begin to tire, and felt his breath growing heavy. A warmth about him continued to spread, threatening to engulf him even more thoroughly than the stomach in which he sat.
Feeling him stopping, the walls squeezed him again, followed by another encouraging chirp. Hiccup contemplated raising his arms again to continue, but grimaced at the effort.
*glorp*
*gurgle*
“Listen, I know you’re enjoying this,” he said with a hint of spite, “but I think I’m about done.”
The dragon gave an inquisitive tone and squeezed him once again, clearly not understanding.
“I… I can’t do it anymore.”
The dragon made a pleading warble, like a dog sincerely begging for a treat.
“You’re digesting me in here! You get that right? I’ll probably be dead in another minute, and you’ll go on having a good time, happily turning me into mush. Well, sorry, but mush can’t rub! Apologies if my death inconveniences you.” He folded his arms frustratedly in a huff, jiggling the belly that held him.
The Night Fury responded with a contemplative warble, followed by a long, thoughtful rumble, and then-
*glurk*
*glurk*
*glurk*
*glurk*
Suddenly the stomach became turbulent, squeezing in tight and kneading against the boy’s skin. He quickly lost what sense of orientation he’d had.
Oh gods, this is it! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III: dragon chow after all.
*blech*
He landed on the stony ground with a thud, slipping out of the Night Fury’s mouth along with copious amounts of drool and stomach sludge, as the red maw withdrew from above him. He blinked a few times.
…Am I dead? That was pretty fast.
Then he made the mistake of taking a breath through the nose.
“Ugh!! No, definitely still alive.” He did his best to unsuccessfully wipe some slime from his face.
The Night Fury circled around to his front and shoved its big, inquisitive eyes into his face.
“Wah!” Hiccup leaned back in alarm.
It just stood there and sniffed, its ear-flap twitching idly.
“You… let me out?”
It stepped a bit closer, obviously no longer threatened by the little, slime-covered Viking that had just been tucked away in its belly. It nudged its snout against the Viking’s hands, shifting them around in examination, as if asking itself, Were these the little things that made those wonderful rubs?
Then the dragon looked back up at the boy’s face, its eyes seeming almost appreciative… at least for a moment, before they started rolling back.
*glurk*
*glurk*
*glurk*
*glurk*
Hiccup recognized the sound, the one he had just heard from the inside. He saw the dragon’s neck pulsing, its throat moving something along.
*blech*
Before he had a chance to move away, the dragon deposited the former contents of its stomach right on the boy’s lap. Hiccup stared down in disgust. It was the fish, thoroughly covered in goop, but otherwise intact, much like himself.
The Night Fury looked at him somewhat courteously. Oh, you can have that back too.
“Oh, erm, thanks, but you can keep that.” He pushed it off his legs with a splat and gestured with his hand.
The big scaly head looked down at the cod, sniffed, and then looked back up at him.
“Yeah, go on,” Hiccup confirmed. He had brought that to feed to the dragon, after all.
The dragon looked back down at the fish, eyed it, then parted its jaws slightly. But it shot him one last glance. You sure you don’t want this?
“Trust me, it’s all yours.”
Suddenly there came a sharp, wet sound from the beast’s maw, accompanied by a row of white, pointed teeth which appeared to leap out from within its gums. Hiccup only barely saw them, for not a second later the jaws had closed around the fish, swiping it off the ground. The Night Fury raised its head, quickly chomped three or four times, and then swallowed with a wet *glurk*. Though he could no longer see it, Hiccup got the distinct feeling that the fish was not in one piece anymore, as it slid back down the black, scaly neck.
“So…” Hiccup muttered nervously, “I guess you do have teeth.” He had been lucky. He had been swallowed alive, but even still he had been lucky.
The Night Fury looked back up at him, first at his face and then again at his hands. Still too scared and tired to make much of a move, Hiccup watched the scaly snout poke at his fingers a second time. A series of curious, interested noises bubbled from the Night Fury’s chest as it studied the appendage.
Hiccup was just slightly starting to calm down, when he saw the dragon open its mouth again. His heart plunged again as he saw the white, dagger-sharp teeth quickly pass over his wrist, ready to slice clean through him and leave him just like old Gobber.
“No!”
But then came that abrupt, wet, sliding sound and the teeth disappeared. Hiccup let his breath out in a long sigh. He was so relieved, that it took him a moment before he realized that the dragon’s jaws had still closed around his hand. It was the tongue that brought that to his attention. The flexible, slippery, spongy organ began rolling around his digits and palm, investigating with unreserved curiosity.
“What uh… what are you doing there?” he asked nervously.
The dragon shifted its eyes to meet his and gave a hopeful, almost requesting trill.
Hiccup met the expectant gaze, first with confusion, and then with discomfort as he got an idea of what the dragon wanted.
“Errr…” he murmured nervously. He wasn’t exactly in a position to refuse- and he’d much rather try to stay on the Night Fury’s good side than its inside.
Hiccup spread his fingers and began to run them along the slippery tongue. The dragon began to rumble again, and after a moment he saw its eyelids begin to droop.
“Wow, you really like this stuff, huh?”
An even louder rumble answered him, which he took to mean ‘yes’.
The tongue rolled under him, beckoning him to rub further back. Hiccup obliged, partially from fear, and partially from his own growing fascination. He let his digits curl around the sides, feeling underneath. His palm glided over the slick, vaguely bumpy surface, twitching slightly at his touch. It wasn’t long before most of his arm was inside.
I’m… rubbing a dragon’s tongue. It ate me alive, and now I’m rubbing its tongue. Thor’s hammer, there must be something wrong with me.
*glurk*
There was a quick squeeze and Hiccup felt his hand pulled down into the Night Fury’s throat.
“No!”
The dragon froze. Meeting his eyes again, it gently opened its mouth, its gaze unsure.
Hiccup slowly pulled his arm back. Long strands of drool clung to his skin, but the throat itself released him with little resistance. He stared at the dragon questioningly. It seemed a bit regretful of that last swallow, but also optimistic and anticipative, as if it hoped the boy would have gone willingly- or might do so soon.
“You do like getting rubbed.”
The dragon’s expression lit up with a resounding ‘yes’, accompanied with a little excited warble.
“And you do know that I can’t do that if I’m dead, right?”
The dragon gave a less enthusiastic, but still fairly obvious ‘yes’.
“So you won’t eat me, then, right?”
The Night Fury glanced away with an unhappy, contemplative tone, but then looked back at him and made a hopeful little warble, pleading slightly with its eyes. Maybe just for a little while?
“Oh gods…” Hiccup muttered, bringing a slimy hand across his equally slimy face. “Okay, listen. If you let me leave- you know, alive- then I promise I’ll come back tomorrow. And…” Oh I can’t believe I’m about to say this. “…maybe I’ll let you swallow me again then.”
The Night Fury became ecstatic, excitedly bouncing around the rocky cove.
“But- but you have to promise not to keep me in there too long, and you have to stay toothless.”
The dragon ran back up to him, skidding to a stop. It opened its mouth wide right in front of his face. The row of intimidating teeth suddenly shot up from within the red gums, but then disappeared just as quickly. Hiccup watched frightenedly for a moment, but they remained retracted. An expectant warble came up from the Night Fury’s throat. Like this, right?
“Yes, toothless, good.”
Hiccup reached out, a bit less reluctantly than before, and stroked the dragon’s exposed tongue, offering some praise. It slithered back and forth in enjoyment, a low rumble rising up from the throat beyond.
Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.