snake screamer: Thank you.

Iron-Mantis: Thank you.


"Okay, and here we are." Hiccup said when we got up to his room.

"This relationship is moving a bit fast, don't you think?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Hiccup. It was just a joke." I said. I looked at the drawings up on his wall and scattered across his desk. I rose my brows at them, "Those are really good. I don't remember ever seeing such artistic talent before."

A lot of them were of the two Night Furies. In some of them they were lying together, playing together and there were just a whole bunch of other amazing pictures that can't really be described. Some were of new tail designs for the half-tailed one, others were possible saddle designs for the other one.

All in all, I was genuinely impressed.

"You really think so?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, thanks. I try hard."

"You succeed." I said. He may be the enemy but I'm not above praising others for something amazing that they're capable of doing. "I'm actually a whittler."

"A whittler? Like a wood carver?" He asked.

"Yep." I said. "I needed some way to pass my free time so I began to look for things to do and it turns out I actually have quite the knack for it."

"Okay, hold on." He said and began to go downstairs. "I'll be right back." He called.

"I'll be here." I called back. He came back a few seconds later with a log and a knife.

"Care to demonstrate your whittling skills?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Sure thing." I smirked down at him. I sat on the floor next to his bed and took the two items from him. I laid the piece of wood down in my lap and looked the knife over before beginning to cut at the wood. "It might take a while." I said.

"I can wait." He said. He stood next to the stairs, "I'll go get you something to eat. Shadow, Toothless, stay up here with her, okay? I'll bring you guys some dinner, too."

The one with the prosthetic tail laid up in the rock bed, the full-tailed one sat next to me and watched me carve. It was a bit odd, I'll admit it. He was pretty close to my personal space but I ignored it and continued.

He looked around and flew out of the window. There was a loud crashing noise and there was a bang against the side of the house that made both me and Toothless jump. Luckily, it didn't mess up my carving. A branch suddenly flew in through the window and almost hit Toothless.

Hiccup came up with a basket in his arms, "Shadow did this, didn't he?" He asked. I nodded. Shadow came back in through the window and shook himself off a bit. "Shadow, what are you doing?"

Shadow looked at the branch then at my carving. He looked up at Hiccup, I gave a confused look to the two of them.

"Oh!" Hiccup gasped after realizing something. "Night Furies tend to copy things that they see." He said. "Toothless copied me drawing in the dirt with a stick, Shadow's copying you whittling. That's all." He put the basket down. "This one's for Toothless. And I'll be back with yours, Shades." He descended the stairs.

Toothless began to eat at his fish and Shadow dragged the large branch over next to me. He watched as I continued to carve then began to lean over and bite on the large branch. He stopped once in a while, looked at me then began to claw at it before going back to biting at it.

He stopped only once and that was to eat his fish, I finally finished my carving and examined it. One of my best works so far, if I do say so myself. He finished his meal then came back and looked down at my carving.

"Okay, Al, dinner." Hiccup came and put a plate on the desk. "I'll put that right there for you."

"It's done." I said. I showed him the carving I made.

He looked at it then gave me an approving nod. "Nice!" He said. "A mini Night Fury."

I shrugged, "First thing that came to mind."

He grinned, "I love it." He said.

"You can keep it if you want." I handed it to him.

"Are you sure?" He rose a brow and held it in his hands.

"Yep." I nodded. "And if you don't want to keep it then you can sell it or trade for it. Give it to someone as a gift."

"Well, thanks. I'll go ahead and keep it. This is a beautiful piece of work." He set it up on the desk but on the opposite side that the food was on.

"Thanks, you're too kind." I said. I'm really hating how easy it is to like him. I'm not lying, it's been less than a day and I'm irritated with his likability already.

Suddenly, the smell of the fish he must have cooked drifted into my nostrils, I sniffed a bit then pulled the plate into my lap. I began to eat happily. This food was amazing. Not rotten or old like on Outcast Island. "Food. Real food!"

Hiccup huffed a laugh out, then sat on the edge of his bed with his legs crossed. "So, where were you all these years?"

I almost choked.

I didn't even think about that.

I looked up at him then shifted my gaze back to the fish, I ran my fingers in a circle on the floor. "Well, I was back with the Berserkers." I said slowly then began to speak more quickly. "I was convinced that maybe I could connect with my roots and somehow that would make me stronger."

"But... but you left me behind." He furrowed his brows. He said it with pain laced into the words.

"I know, I'm sorry but I did it so I could get stronger, for you. I was planning on coming back in about a few months or so, you know, kind of like a surprise visit. I guess I'll have to cancel that trip."

He thought about what I said for a moment, "Well, that's kind of you." He grinned.

Wow, you're dense. That's good.

"It was kind of both you and your father to let me stay here. The look on his face was priceless." I said, smirking though I was a bit skeptical at Stoic's agreement.

Did not even ask any questions. We told him who I was, he was in shock after a short moment then agreed to let me stay with them. I've got my eyes on him.

"Well, I'm sure everyone's bound to have the same face. We thought you were dead for years." He said in defense.

I was no longer eating and there was half of the fish left, I noticed Shadow looking at me. I rose a brow up at him, "What? Did I do something wrong?" He shifted his gaze to the fish. "Oh. Here you go." I held it out to him, he rose the scales above one of his eyes skeptically and turned his head away a bit. He examined both me and the fish closely.

I wasn't going to pry at him. I have to earn their trust, not force it.

He came close, nudged it with his nose then sniffed at it. He looked back at me then once again at the fish. He opened his mouth and I saw no teeth. Nothing but gums. I guess that's why that dragon is called Toothle-

"Watch it." Hiccup warned quickly.

"Why?" I asked.

Teeth quickly darted out of the dragon's gums and into the fish, he pulled back and hurriedly ate it then licked his lips.

"That's why." He said.

"He shouldn't be called Toothless! He should be called 'Deceivingly Toothless.'"

He only laughed gently and shook his head. Then after he saw me yawn, he stood up. "So, you need your sleep. So do we. Can I get you anything before we all drift off?"

"No but thank you for the offer." I said.

"You can sleep in here. Me and the dragons will sleep downstairs." Hiccup said. "Come on, guys." He began walking downstairs, he turned back to me with bright eyes and a smile. "And sleep well, Al." He continued downstairs with Toothless following.

"Sweet dreams, Hic." I said.

I don't know why that was my first response. It was just this little itch in the back of my head that forced me to say that. It was also a bit familiar to me but I shook it off.

Hiccup stopped in his tracks, turned and looked at me, his smile grew a bit. "Sweet dreams, Al." There was a look of recognition in his eyes as he spoke those words, like a lost memory. He finally turned and left to completly descend down the stairs.

I rose a brow then something nudged me from behind. I turned and saw the full-tailed Night Fury, Shadow. He dropped the 'carving' of his next to me. I looked at it though it was nothing really but a branch with a bunch of bites taken out of it and clawmarks.

"Good job, Shadow." I said. He looked rather proud of himself, considering that he puffed his chest out and smirked. I don't know why I felt the need to reach out and touch the carving but he growled at me. I pulled back and looked at him, he trilled gently. I rose a brow and reached for it again, he growled again so again, I pulled back. I did it once again then I finally decided to leave it alone since he looked like he was ready to bite me the next time I did that.

Instead, I just gave him a grin then I felt the sudden need to reach over and pet him. He saw me doing so out of the corner of his eye then growled at me, I pulled back. "Okay, sorry about that. You have boundries, I respect that." He rose the scales above one of his eyes.

"Shadow, come on, bud." Hiccup said from downstairs. "Let Al sleep."

The Night Fury picked up his carving and before walking downtairs, he turned to me and locked eyes with me for a second, not in a dangerous or threatening way but as in a somewhat friendly way. He turned and walked downstairs with his carving.

I don't really want any problems on my hands with getting Hiccup or the others to trust me. I don't give two craps about anyone else, really, as long as I've got him and his father in the palm of my hand, I'm sure that we can get along just fine.

But still, I'm hating the fact that he's so nice and likeable. Seriously, he's got to be the only person sweet enough to give me a toothache. Okay, that might have been an exaggeration but I'm sure that you catch my drift.

I stared throughtfully at the ceiling and traced my fingers in small circles on the side of the bed. I just laid back and thought to myself for a while.

This is the chief's house, he sleeps downstairs all the time, according to Hiccup. He's down there with two Night Furies and the said Viking himself. He also has swords and shields that decorate the wall. From what I was tought on Outcast Island, you always go for the sword but from personal experience, the shield is the better way to go.

But I can't kill Stoic right now. I'll figure something out after a while, for now, I can only attempt to earn their full trust. I'll get trust from Hiccup so he can teach me how to train dragons then I'll get trust from the dragons themselves. When Hiccup is gone with his dragons, I guess I can attack then.

Well, I think so anyway. Honestly, I'm not the best planner. Especially since I've only got that far. Until I can figure out a better idea, then this is what I'll stick with. In other words, I'm the worst planner ever if I think this is going to work.

After a while, I slowly creeped downstairs to see Hiccup and the two dragons huddled together sleeping. I smirked and quietly went back upstairs, climbed out of the window and did a quick check outside for anything or anyone that might have seen me sneaking around.

I wasn't going to run because that's too sketchy, I'll be taking slow and casual walks through the area.

I slid down to the ground with a light scrape and balanced myself once I got on the ground. I began my casual walk through the area, catching the attention of a few dragons that remained awake but they paid me no mind just like the night before.

My destination was reached, Slade's house. I looked around and opened the door without knocking. I saw Slade's druken body sprawled on the ground near the fireplace.

"You'll never change, will you, old man?" I asked. I kicked him in the side. "Get up." He groaned and mubmled tiredly in response to the kick. "Get up, you drunkard!" I kicked him as hard as I could. He jerked awake and looked at me with half-lidded eyes, he wiped the drool off his mouth and threw one of his mugs aside.

"You?" He groaned and held his forehead with both hands. "What do you need this time? I can't be wasting my time."

"Sure." I said sarcastically and picked up a mug that had a bit of ale in it. I tossed it next to him. "Progress report, idiot." I said. He coughed heavily, I folded my arms and impatiently waited for him to finish coughing. Once he was done, he glared up at me from his sitting position.

"What do you have to tell me? Make it fast, too. You're wasting my time." He groaned.

"You pointed that out already. Oh, and you'd have plenty of time on your hands if you didn't spend the whole night drunk and the whole day sitting back on your bloated bubble-butt." I said snidely. He glared at me and picked up the fireplace pick. "I wouldn't if I were you."

"Well, you're not." He said and threw it at me. I ducked away from it and laughed at him.

"You're losing your touch, old man." I said through maniacal giggles. "Anyway, my progress report: I've made connections with Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the dragons and his friends. He's oblivious."

"Good." Slade said flatly. "Now, leave."

"No." I said. "Him and the Ingerman boy said something interesting."

"Great, what is it now?" He glared at me.

"Apparently, a Gronckle killed me." I folded my arms. "Care to explain?"

"No, I don't. Good night." He laid back down. I picked up the fireplace pick and whacked him in the leg, he jerked up and looked at me blankly. "Leave me alone, would you? I need rest."

"You need a job." I said. "Give me my answer and I won't hit you again."

"You gotta break a heart somehow." He said and laid back down.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I asked. Slade rolled over and faced his back to me, "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Hudson!" I whacked him again. He glared at me darkly.

"Go away!" He shouted.

"No, you listen to me, Hudson." I said. "Don't you ever speak to Haddock again. Heed my warning, all you'll do is screw up the whole deal."

"Speak to him? I can barely stand the brat."

"Don't ever speak to Haddock again. Do. You. Understand?" I growled at him.

"Fine, fine. Leave now, would you?" He grumbled.

"Fine." I growled. I left the house and quietly shut the door.

I'm surprised that the whole village didn't wake up after all of our shouting. I began to walk back to the Haddock household, climbed in through the same window I exited from and laid back in bed with a yawn.

Finally, time for some shut eye.