Memories: Journey Home

Chapter 1: The Chief and The Alpha

"You know, there is something new about you."

Hiccup chuckled, as he reached in the bucket of water. It was already full, and he was afraid to admit that he still could not lift it alone. Gladly, Toothless was there when needed. However, the rather large dragon was off laying in the grass on the hill overlooking Berk.

"Well, I am the Chief of Berk," Hiccup admitted. He sat himself down beside his wife, Astrid Hofferson, and handed her a small cup.

Astrid lightly punched his shoulder. "I got that, genius. I just mean that you are taking this chief business better than you lead it out to be."

There was a moment of silence form Hiccup, and he was well aware of it. It had been over a year since the passing of Stoick the Vast, and Hiccup had stepped up to take the role of Chief. Yet- and he was not afraid to admit it to Astrid- he felt the struggles of Chief-hood demanding. It took some time for him to adjust, but he somehow managed.

"Who else would have?" Hiccup asked, as he took a sip from his own cup.

The blonde maiden scoffed. "If you told me to be chief, I gladly would have." She smiled, and lightly squeezed his arm. "Don't put yourself down, Hiccup. You're doing an amazing job."

Hiccup lightly swung his foot. "Yea, I guess so."

Astrid pulled on his suit, forcing her husband to look at her. "No. you are. Look: the village is in one piece. There has not been any sightings of Dagur or Drago. Your mom is happy here, and we're married. You are a great chief," Astrid explained.

The thought of it would have made Hiccup feel confident, but not right now. For some reason, the insane madmen he had face was not the reason for his sad mood. Sure, everyone on Berk was happy... but Hiccup was not sure if someone in particular was happy.

"How can I be a great chief, if I can't help Toothless?" He glanced at the black scaled dragon. "He's my best friend. And I can't help him."

The Night Fury sat in the grass, and watched the dragons fly above Berk. Some of the dragons were of the same species, and they were using their form of Dragonese to speak with each other. Toothless continued to flip his ears down, as he observed family members bonding with one another. Every so often, Toothless would purr to the dragons who could not hear him from above.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Hiccup, you can't do anything about giving him the freedom to fly. He rejected the tailfin, remember?"

Hiccup recalled back to the auto-tailfin he created for Toothless. It was a Snoggletog gift to give Toothless his freedom, but the Night Fury had destroyed it. He instead showed loyalty to Hiccup. And as much as Hiccup appreciated Toothless' loyalty, the young chief knew that Toothless needed freedom as well.

"This isn't about the fin, Astrid." He stood up, not able to sit at the confusing thoughts swirling in his head. "I-I have searched for six years, to find Toothless' family. Or... a Night Fury. Some indication that Toothless is not alone out there." He rested a hand on his head. "You'd think after all those adventures at Dragon's Edge, we would have found another Night Fury out there."

He laughed, but it was unsettling. Unnatural. "And get this: when I met my mother, I was sure that she would have seen another Night Fury somewhere. But then she tells me that Toothless may be the last Night Fury. How do you think that made me feel?"

Astrid didn't answer. And Hiccup didn't want her to. He didn't want to hear the possible answer that he could never help Toothless. That he could never keep the burdening thought that Toothless was... endangered.

The young chief ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe- maybe I want to show that my best friend is not alone. Because I know how it feels to be alone. To not know that others like you are out there." He looked back at the dragon, who was now resting his head on the ground. "Toothless helped me find my mother. And I swore that I will help him find his family."

Hiccup could feel his arms collapse, feeling as though gravity was pulling them down. Instead, he allowed himself to fall to the ground, and just stare up at the blue sky above Berk. He watched silently as different species of dragons circled the island, enjoying the limitless sky. The dragons flew through the fluffy clouds, and disjointed the cloud's images.

The clouds seemed to take the form of Night Furies, and raced each other with their incredible speed. Feeling the freedom in the open air. Firing plasma blasts and chased each other with their retractile teeth.

For a while, there was no talking. And it felt... comforting. Hiccup was just allowed to watch the imaginary Night Furies, to which he wished that they were real. Oh, how he wished they were real.

"You know..." Astrid laid down on the ground, and pulled on Hiccup's arm, forcing him to turn his head to face her. "You're a great friend for doing this, Hiccup. And I bet Toothless knows that, too." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you'll find more Night Furies." To emphasize her point, she kissed him.

Hiccup sighed, but he allowed Astrid to kiss him fully, and drew her into a hug. As he joined her in their kiss, he could not help for a brief moment than to admit that she was right.

Toothless never realized that he was alone.

For many winters, it seemed, that he had forgotten what it meant to be alone. After all, he was always with Hiccup. And Hiccup appeared to feel lonely as well. And that's why they got along. Why they were so inseparable. So close.

After Hiccup found Valka, the young human divulged himself in learning all she knew. Then… after Stoick died, Hiccup took the responsibility of Alpha for the Vikings (or Chief, as Hiccup and the humans called it). Sure, Hiccup usually was helping the village and making orders, but Toothless never felt alone. He figured it was like having a whole herd to care for.

Yet, Toothless knew that he was alone.

The realization was a bit of a shock, really. He didn't mean to listen to Hiccup and Astrid talk. He knew from speaking with dragons that it was not considered appropriate to overhear others talking in confidence. And Toothless knew that he should not have listened to Hiccup's conversation.

But, as his mother always told him, he was too curious for his own good.

"He's my best friend. And I can't help him."

The Night Fury, although decided to stop watching the other dragons enjoy their freedom in the air, still faced the limitless sky. From the way Hiccup spoke... It was though the skinny human had almost given up.

Toothless scoffed to himself. No. Hiccup never gave up. He always knew what to do. He was a determined human and he promised to find a Night Fury. Even if it meant just knowing that there was at least one Night Fury out there.

"I be your friend…."

Toothless cooed at the memory. The moment his much younger self, merely a hatchling, confessed to an older Night Fury that he was not alone in the world.

That he had a friend.

Yet, Toothless could not help but feel the rush of many memories flood him. Of his mother. The Wodensfang. The Whispering Death. His dead mother. Woddie accepting him as his son. Growing and traveling together.

Toothless moaned sadly. It had been so long since he had seen his father.

Well, adopted father, to be honest. His birth father (according to Wodensfang) died during a Viking attack on a Night Fury nest. As much as it had pained him to not know his birth father, he was lucky to have had one at all.

The older Night Fury, whose scales had grown whiter as each winter passed, was a remarkably old dragon. Sarcastic at times, but nevertheless he was a loyal and brave dragon.

He was strange, Toothless admitted. When he had first heard of the Wodensfang, he heard that the ancestors had given the old dragon a name (since dragons never gave names to their young). But it suited the old dragon. The dragon had explained that his name meant... like a protector. And he was a protector. Wodensfang protected Toothless, or Blackfoot as he was referred as (ironically), for many years.

He really was my father...

Those were happy memories. Playing under the stars. Fishing with the herd. Sleeping in the old cave that was their new home. Meeting new Night Furies.

Happiness.

As the happy memories came flooding in, a feeling of pity entered. Toothless didn't know why, but he started to feel sad in addition. Like... he should not have left to the Queen's Nest six years ago. Not just that he was alone... but because he left his father behind.

His heart ached for the old dragon that he met as a young hatchling of merely a month old. The same dragon whom he referred to as Papa.

The Night Fury moaned sadly once again, as he came to realize something:

What if you aren't out there, Wodensfang?

Okay, to those who are a little confused... this is the "sort-of-sequel" to my story, "Memories".

However, it may be a little confusing to just jump into this story. I have altered this slightly for new readers, and I hope you new readers are not completely confused. If you are, I strongly suggest you read "Memories" (it's only twelve chapters long). Or you can message me :)

To my "Memories" fans... yes, I have the sequel! I have written the first five chapters, but I am hoping that this will be longer than twelve.

Please read and review!

~DrabbitDragonLord