Chapter One: The Night

Brace yourselves.

It was just before the sun had fully set, and they were alone in their room, sprawled out, sweating, and panting on the bed. You'd think that they made the beast with two backs, but their physical states really didn't add up to make the said beast completely. One lover was missing her right foot, and the other was missing part of his left leg.

Hiccup looked over to his wife with his Night Fury eyes and stroked her hair.

"Hiccup, you never stop surprising me… That was wild!" Astrid stated.

"Heh, that's a good term to use. It is the dragon mating season after all." He replied.

"Oh, great, I'm not going to lay another egg am I?" Astrid asked. Hiccup chuckled, recalling the time she laid their daughter's egg always made him laugh. Astrid punched him lightly in the arm and insisted that he answer her question.

"I think that's up to the fertility gods and whether or not they have a sense of humor." Hiccup replied, earning another small punch from Astrid.

The sun had set and Hiccup's breathing suddenly picked up. Knowing what that meant, Astrid deliberately kicked Hiccup off of the bed, and rolled over to his side. Hiccup had fallen onto a mat he made special for nights like this; this was one of Hiccup's Dragon Nights.

Astrid watched as her husband's skin was being overtaken with dark blue scales. With the occasional silver one thrown in; and although he looked like a Night Fury, he was actually a subspecies of the dragon, a Storm Fury. They were named after their ability to take in the lightning to charge their plasma blasts with it. Not only was Hiccup becoming one, but his niece, Midnightfire, was one as well.

At first, Hiccup was reluctant to have Astrid, or anyone for that matter, observe his bizarre metamorphosis's on his Dragon Nights, the ones where he was forced to become a dragon, but the changes fascinated her, and as long as she didn't say anything, Hiccup rarely even noticed that she was present.

The scales covered his body, his wings sprouted from his shoulders, his left leg grew back (the only part of his transformations that really bugged him), his nails became claws, and a full tail grew from his coccyx. With his change done, he staggered around the room trying to shake the dizzy spell that always followed afterwards.

The reason this was happening to Hiccup is because of this: After pretty much getting himself killed during a battle against Dagur the Deranged, a gem known as the Dragonstone aided him in his revival, and soon after that, he met up with Odin, Thor, and Loki. The gods blessed his stone, but Loki noticed that he had the soul of a dragon, and that soul needed wings; and so he gifted Hiccup's soul with physical wings, but at a small price. Now every once in a while, Hiccup has to become a dragon to allow his draconic soul freedom. He could do this at will, and he does, but if he doesn't then the night awakens his inner dragon for him; or, he could pass off his Dragon Night to another person, unleashing their inner dragon, but that was usually if they were willing or if it was part of a punishment. This gift from Loki also gave him dragon eyes and a 'tattoo' of a dragon silhouette made up of scales on his left pectoral.

"Did you shake off that dizzy spell yet?" Astrid asked him. Hiccup looked over to her and noticed that she was wearing a necklace that allowed her to understand dragon speech. It was also a gift from Loki.

"Yeah, it's gone now." He replied.

"Alright; so what's the schedule for tonight?"

"I'll check on Anora, and then I'll be taking Whoshadow's hatchlings to Mulch and Bucket's farm to see if I can finally catch whoever's been stealing their livestock."

"That sounds like a plan; and will I be filling your position in the morning?" Astrid asked.

"No, my dad asked for it this time. It's almost Snoggletog, and he wanted to be in charge of the village decorating this year." Hiccup replied.

"Alright, then I think I get up for a while and make myself a snack. We can take a nap together when you get back." Astrid told him. Hiccup nuzzled her face with his snout before heading downstairs. There, his eyes fell upon the door to Anora's bedroom. He opened the door further and stepped into the room. His gaze fell upon his slumbering daughter with Midnightfire snuggled up next to her with a protective wing stretched over the child. Hiccup smiled, and who couldn't at a sight like that? However, the moment couldn't last. Hiccup had a thief to catch.

The night was cool, and with it being so close to Snoggletog, the ground was covered in snow; but there was no need to worry about tracks, as the snow was still falling from the sky. It was nearly impossible for human eyes to see where they were going. Still, this entity knew what they were doing, and was determined to get this task done.

Starting out at the chicken coop, the entity stashed two hens in a sack before heading over to the sheep pasture with a rope. The entity selected a large and extra wooly one and tied the rope around its neck.

As the entity was leaving the farm, a small dragon plastered itself to the entity's face and gave him a light shock; and the sound of a screaming dragon told the entity that his partner in crime was getting the same treatment, while a third one of the little buggers snatched the sack of chickens out of the entity's hand. A moment after that, the entity heard the sound of beating wings from a larger dragon, and sensed the beast landing.

The small dragon abandoned the entity's face, and the thief's identity was revealed as it locked eyes with a familiar Storm Fury.

"Chief, hi, how're you doing this lovely night?" He asked. Hiccup roared at him because his current physiology wouldn't allow him to speak, but this was what he was thinking: Snotlout, you're the one who's been thieving from you own tribe? How could you? A felon, in our family! This is the most embarrassing thing to happen to me since Cloudjumper dropped me in my parents' house when they were having sex!

The Skrill hatchling that was plastered to Hookfang's face fluttered away, and Hiccup ordered the Monstrous Nightmare to grab his rider and haul him off to the jail where Snotlout will remain until Hiccup pronounced a sentence for his crime once he was human again. He directed his attention to the three Skrill hatchlings and told them: "Vastra, Enya, and Thorn, thank you for your help, and as a reward, I'll treat you to some good mutton in gravy in the afternoon. Goodnight to you now."

They were the three children of the Skrill known as Whoshadow; and as far as mischievous acts were concerned, they made Midnightfire and the Thorston twins look like a baby bunnies when compared to the chaos the Skrill hatchlings ensued. They were known for sneaking away from Whoshadow and sneaking into houses to raid the pantries, 'remodeling' the rooms, and giving the residents a good zap. The latter of these antics oftentimes had the people with insane hairdos. Stoick one ended up with a beard that ended up making him look like he was having an angry, bright orange, longhaired cat, attacking his face, which induced screaming fits of laughter from Hiccup, Valka, and their dragons.

Vastra and Enya were the girls, and they took after their partially insane mother, only more troublesome. Vastra had green eyes, and has an unusual taste for yak's milk. She was often seen suckling on one of the animals, and ended up getting chased away by the farmers. Enya, the only blue Skrill ever seen, was the most inquisitive in the clutch, and was usually the one raiding the pantries. If there was a door, sack, or a box anywhere around her, it was going to be opened. Now Thorn, took after his father. He was the one with the best behavior, but was usually the one who rearranged hairstyles.

Ok, that was quite the event. Now, I think it's time to spread my wings and fly. Hiccup thought to himself. As a Storm Fury, he could handle flying through high winds and precipitation better than a Night Fury. He was simply built for it.

Ok I think that's an awkward, but fun start, and now you've met Whoshadow's hatchlings!