Chapter 3

The next morning Toothless decided to visit the apple tree. He glanced around at the number of dragons that hadn't migrated. Things seemed quiet for the moment. He turned and headed up the hill towards the tree. He knew it would be a few days until his friends returned.

When he reached the apple tree, the first thing he saw was Chris and Windwalker, and of course had no idea who they were. Toothless tensed up as he investigated. He was surprised to see another Night Fury, and not a hybrid. She had a man sleeping next to her that looked around Serenity's age. Toothless slowly approached and sniffed them. Curious he nudged the other Nighty Fury. She stirred and her eyes opened. She saw Toothless and sat up.

"Who are you?" Toothless asked, hoping he sounded intimidating enough. Windwalker didn't answer, but roused her rider. Chis woke up and saw Toothless as well.

"Who are you?" Toothless asked again. "And what are you doing under the tree?"

"I'm Chris," said Chris. "And this is Windwalker." Toothless drew back in surprise.

"You can speak to dragons?" he asked. "I thought our dragon healer was the only one who could do that." Chris automatically knew who he was talking about.

"Serenity's your dragon healer?" he asked. Toothless looked surprised again.

"You know Serenity?" he asked. Chris nodded.

"She's a friend of mine," he said. Toothless considered for a moment.

"Who exactly are you?" asked Windwalker.

"I'm Toothless, I'm the alpha dragon here," Toothless said. "Wait here, I'll go get my rider." He turned and headed back down the hill. Both Chris and Windwalker noticed his red tail fin as he retreated.

"That one's been through the storm," said Windwalker, when Toothless was out of earshot. "Why is he the alpha I wonder?"

"Because, with the exception of my father, Night Furies make the best alphas," said Chris. Windwalker purred at the compliment. They got to their feet and stretched.

They waited for a few minuets before Toothless came back with Hiccup. Chris and Hiccup looked at each other, tensing up. Hiccup pulled out Inferno and Chris pulled out one of his swords.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked. Chris repeated his introduction. He lowered his sword, he figured Serenity wouldn't want her lawn soaked in blood.

"I'm looking for my friend, Serenity," he explained. Hiccup looked just as surprised as Toothless.

"You know Serenity?" he asked. "How? She never mentioned you." Chris sighed.

"It's a long, complicated story," he said. "Short version is, she doesn't know I'm alive."

"If you know her, describe her," Hiccup said.

"Emerald green eyes, golden brown hair, scar on her right cheek," said Chris. "Can talk to dragons and hates fighting." Hiccup relaxed and put Inferno away.

"Are you Draconian too?" he asked.

"Yes," Chris said. "Re and Aurora are my adopted parents. I was separated from them when I was twelve, they don't know I'm alive either."

"Hmm," Hiccup said. "Then it's probably about time they knew. I'll send them a terror message and ask them to come out here. But until they get here, I ask you remain on Berk."

"Sure," Chris said. "Is Berk that village down there?"

"Yes, I'm the chief and Toothless is the alpha," Hiccup explained. "Vikings and dragons live together here."

"You keep them as slaves?" Chris asked, sounding a bit bitter.

"Oh no, certainly not," Hiccup said. "We treat dragons with respect here. We've made peace with them and are trying to save as many as we can. We also strive to learn as much as we can about them." Chris and Windwalker exchanged a glance.

"I've never heard of a whole village making peace with dragons," said Chris.

"We're the first one," Hiccup said. "Anyway, why don't you come down to the plaza. I'll show you around the place and get a message out to Re and Aurora. They'll be able to clear this up. They can also help track down Serenity."

"Sure," Chris said. He and Windwalker followed Hiccup and Toothless down the hill towards the plaza.

When they reached it Chris and Windwalker were introduced to the other riders. Without a doubt they were interested, especially in seeing another Night Fury. While Chris was being bombarded with questions, Hiccup wrote a message to Re and Aurora. Toothless called Hiccup's Tiny Terror, Sharpshot. When Hiccup finished his note he tied it to the little dragon's leg.

"Take this to the king and queen on Draconia," Toothless explained to Sharpshot. The Terror nodded and took off. Hiccup and Toothless rejoined the group.

Back in Draconia, Re was having trouble focusing due to the pain in his jaw. He and Aurora were lounging on a hill overlooking Silver Valley Lake. They had spent the previous day planning the demolition of Dragon Claw Canyon. They planned to burn it down when Tenor returned. Re didn't know if his mouth could take the amount of fire breathing required. Whenever he breathed fire the spot where he'd been stabbed would burn like he'd eaten a thousand ghost peppers. The protective layer on the inside of his mouth wasn't completely restored, and Re knew it would be a while. He laid his head down on the grass. Aurora looked at him.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

"Can you heal my skull?" Re asked. Aurora sighed.

"It is healing," she said. "Even if I sped it up, you will still be in pain. If you let heal slowly, the pain will go away for good. I'm sorry." Re moaned and clutched his head, which was throbbing. Aurora nuzzled him.

"It'll get better, I promise," she said. "I can foresee that by the end of the month you'll feel a lot better." She put her wing around him. She used her magic to dull his pain and it brought him relief for the moment.

Suddenly they heard a loud screech. They looked up to see a Tiny Terror flying towards them. He landed in front of them.

"Good afternoon your majesties," he said, giving a tiny bow. "Sharpshot of Berk at your service. I bring a message from Hiccup." He held out his paw. Re untied the scroll tied to the little dragon's leg. He unrolled it and read it.

Re and Aurora,

A mysterious rider on a Night Fury, named Windwalker, has turned up on Berk. He says his name is Chris, and he claims he's your adopted son. I don't know if what he says is true, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He wants to go look for Serenity, but I told him to remain on the island until you got here. So I need the two of you to come to Berk. We look forward to seeing you.

Hiccup.

Re and Aurora exchanged a glance. Re dismissed Sharpshot.

"Chris is on Berk?" said Aurora.

"That's not possible," Re said. "I saw him go into the ocean myself. If he were alive, he would have contacted us."

"Perhaps this Night Fury has something to do with it," said Aurora. She got to her feet. "Lets go to Berk and see about this. You think you can make it?" Re got up as well.

"I think so," he said. "My head hurts, but my wings are fine."

"Alright," said Aurora. "Let me know if you start feeling faint, please." Re nodded. With that, they spread their wings and took off. They flew as fast as they could towards Berk.

Back on Berk, Chris and Windwalker were back under Serenity's apple tree. They watched the sun set. Chris was really looking forward to seeing his family again. Hiccup informed him that he'd sent a message to Re and Aurora, so they were on their way. As of right now, Serenity and Tenor were the only ones who didn't know. Chris could already picture the look on Serenity's face. She would be very surprised and not believe her eyes at first. Of course, Chris had no idea what she would look like now a days, since she would now be a grown women. He leaned back against Windwalker and closed his eyes, and soon he was drifting off.

The next morning Chris explored the area beneath the tree. Windwalker rolled in the grass, getting the sent all over her scales. Chris went inside the house, which was plenty big enough for a dragon. He saw a large queen sized bed in the back, a table with chairs, a hat rack made out of dragon horns that had been shedded, and a counter with pots and pans stacked on it. Light came in form the windows, providing the only light. There were a few books stacked on the night stand next to the bed. The bed itself was made of fine wood, that had carved eastern dragons wrapped around the bedposts. A bed pan hung on the wall over the bed.

At that moment Windwalker came up beside him. She wormed her head under his hand.

"What do you plan to do when you see her again?" she asked.

"Pick up where I left off," Chris said. "They night before I left home, we'd talked about traveling world and helping dragons. I would fight off any bad guys and she would treat any injured dragons."

"Sounds to me like you've been doing exactly that," said Windwalker. "Only miles apart."

"And now we can do it together," Chris said. "But first we must find her. I hope my parents get here soon." He closed the double doors, just as the rider's dragons, minus Toothless, came up the hill. They had just returned from the hatching grounds to pay their riders a visit, while they waited for their eggs to hatch. They had no doubt already heard about Chris and Windwalker.

"Hello, Chris," said Hookfang. "You sleep okay?"

"Yes," Chris answered. "Are my parents here yet?"

"No," said Meatlug. "But I suspect they'll be here this evening, depending on how fast they fly." Chris sat in the vacant seat by the fire pit. Hookfang lit a fire and they all gathered around it.

"You looking forward to seeing them again?" asked Belch.

"I am," Chris said. "But I'm also a bit nervous. I'm wondering if they'll be angry that I hadn't told them I was alive until now. I must have really hurt them."

"They'll forgive you I'm sure," said Stormfly. "As soon as you've explained where you've been all these years. They'll be very happy to see you, and so will Serenity when we find her."

"I wonder where she is," said Hookfang. "There's so many island with dragons on them, many of whom she's friends with."

"We'll find her," said Stormfly. "Skullcrusher can find anyone, no matter how far away they are."

"What do you guys know about the dragon she rides, Tenor?" Windwalker asked.

"He's a very unusual dragon," said Stormfly. "He's nice for sure, you just have to get passed his odd appearance."

"Didn't Chris tell you about him?" asked Hookfang.

"I couldn't tell her much," Chris said. "It was so long ago, most of the time he stayed in the shadows. All I remember is that he's black."

"What's so unusual about him?" Windwalker asked. The dragons exchanged a glance.

"He's a hybrid," said Stormfly. "A very rare hybrid. He's quite shy at first, but once he gets comfortable around you he can by pretty cocky."

"What sort of hybrid?" Windwalker asked. Hookfang was about to answer, when they heard their riders calling them.

"Sorry, we have to go," said Meatlug. "You'll find out when you meet him."

"We'll see you later," said Hookfang. They all spread their wings and took off. Windwalker tilted her head in curiosity.

"A hybrid," she said. "I don't see anything wrong with being a hybrid."

"Maybe he doesn't see it that way," Chris said. "Mom and Dad said he was ridiculed all his life because he looked different, which is probably why I didn't seem that much." Windwalker pondered this. She hoped Re and Aurora arrived soon. She wanted to find Tenor and learn more about him.

"You're curious about him," Chris said, it wasn't a question.

"I am," Windwalker said. "I can't help that I have so many questions about him." Chris leaned back in the chair.

They spent the rest of the day exploring the rest of the island. Windwalker continued to picture what Tenor might look like, but all she could picture was a dark silhouette.

Before long the sun began to set. Chris and Windwalker flew back to the village. Some of the dragons and vikings were watching the skies for Re and Aurora. Toothless came up beside Chris.

"Any sign of them?" Chris asked.

"Not yet," said Toothless. "But they'll get here, don't worry. Why don't you lend a wing around here to pass the time. They'll be here before you know it."

So Chris and Windwalker helped around the village. Chris kept looking up at the sky, looking for Re and Aurora. So far there was no sign of them. As the sun vanished beneath the horizon the vikings and dragons started to turn in for the night. Chris looked up at the sky again, only to find nothing. Disappointed, he and Windwalker headed back up to the apple tree. When they got there Chris sat in the chair. Windwalker lit the fire place and sat next it.

"They didn't come," she said.

"I'm sure they have a perfectly good explanation for taking so long," Chris said. "I'll wait up for them." He leaned back in the chair and made himself comfortable. Windwalker eventually fell asleep. Chris just watched the stars and moon. He wondered where Serenity and Tenor were now. Tenor was nocturnal, so he imagined they were flying to their next destination. Chris was also brainstorming for what he would say when he found Serenity.

He must have fallen asleep pondering the matter, because the next thing he knew Windwalker was waking him up. He sat up and saw that it was dawn.

"Chris, your parents are inbound," Windwalker said. Chris jumped to his feet. He took a deep breath and mounted his dragon. They flew down to the plaza where Hiccup and Toothless were waiting. Windwalker landed beside them and Chris dismounted. In the distance two dragons were flying towards them. As they got closer, Chris's heart beat faster out of excitement.