Toothless didn't understand why he was so upset.
His mate was here, and his hatchlings were safe. His pride followed him, and his kind and kin were safe in the edge.
So what was wrong?
He lulled his eyes to the luminous ceiling, and his mate gently nudged him, warbling in both confusion and comfort.
He huffed through his nose and bumped her softly, and they slept.
-------
"Bud? Hey bud"
Toothless jumped up and whirled around. Intruder. A human intruder. The smell was oddly familiar.. and comforting. Memories of flying free and chasing other dragons and people flew through his mind, with flashes of a small human that understood. A small human that stayed small, yet grew. A human that allowed him to fly without fear of falling.
Hiccup.
He warbled deep in his throat and hummed in joy. His human! His human came to see him!
But when he went to lick him, his tongue went right through him.
"H-hi bud. I've missed you too, ya know? But I'm..I'm going to go away now. I won't be able to come back."
Come back? He would come back? Toothless stretched his jaws, smiling and humming.
"N-no bud. I CAN'T come back."
Oh. Toothless smelled the sadness pouring off of his human.
"I'm old, bud. You couldn't lick me remember? They.. Odin just let me come say goodbye. I made it to Valhalla though! Tuffnuts here too, and one day we'll all be together here"
It was Toothless' turn to understand now. He wished that he didn't understand what his beloved human was telling him, and in desperation, he tried to bump his human, but it wouldn't work.
"I know bud. You live longer than me, you know that? But one day, I'll see you again, and we can fly through the glorious halls of Valhalla."
Toothless murbled sadly. Dragons would live for hundreds of a humans' tiny lifetimes.
"It'll be okay though! Maybe you can see my kids as they grow up, and their kids!"
Toothless warbled again in agreement. All the humans that smelled like this one, and all the humans that looked into a dragons' soul like this one would be welcomed.
"I gotta go now bud. I love you, okay? I'll.. I'll see you in a few years."
Then the wispy human touched his nose, and was gone.
-------
Around the world, it was heard. The keening cry of a arcane creature that had been wounded.
The alpha of the pack keened, and his mate with him.
The village of Berk, leagues away, blew their horns, all mourning of the greatest chief they'd ever known.
The man with the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon.
