A dark cave. He lay, wrapping his most precious possession in black wings.

He seemed to cry out to the approaching morning, doubts and endless worries forming a torrent of sorrow.

~Oh, have to take your hand, and feel your breath for fear this someday will be over

I pull you close, so much to lose knowing that nothing lasts forever

But all things change

Let this remain

Let this remain

Want you to know that should I go

I always loved you, held you high above, true

I study your face, the fear goes away.

Fear goes away~.

The dream faded away, replaced by blurry consciousness. Grey mist shrouds his vision. The peace he had felt whilst unconsciousness dissipates quickly. The dragon perked his ears at the sound of rolling wheels and horse hoof on dirt. He caught the middle of a conversation as his mind and eyes cleared.

:Why can't you just keep your damn mouth shut when we come across people? Why did you assume him to be one of us? Night Furies have been seen this far south before:.

It was the creatures in hooded robes talking above him, Toothless realized as he cleared his head and put the situation in place.

There was nothing but blackness around him, but they were moving. He was a prisoner. He was in some kind of cart, two vertical slits of light marking the back door. The smell of treated oak and rusted metal overcame all else. The hooded men were above him. There was a weight all over him, but with his first thought being to flame everything around him, the dragon found he couldn't open his mouth, encountering crushing heavy steel whatever part of his body he moved.

A steel net. It feels exactly the same as what crushed me before. How did they drop something like this on me? It must weigh more than me. Why would they go to these lengths to capture one dragon?

What had the strange creature said? "The master knows who you are, and he has an exciting proposition for you."

:Because I actually look:.

A second voice, different, but still in his language, Toothless realized. Somehow these humans have the same ability my Hiccup has. How can they speak as we do?

:He has a human with him. But the human has scars across his face, and two stubs growing from his back. The Night Fury has a fin missing. They are marked the same as us:.

The dragon recoiled at the mention of his mate. Do they have Hiccup? Where is he? He threw his nose around, searching for any trace of Hiccup's scent and picking up nothing. He groaned inwardly, unsure of the boy's well being.

:That's weird, sure. But you jump to conclusions much too easily. You frightened our prey off. Be more careful next time, only take others in cloaks to be known servants of the master:.

A third voice, deeper than the other two, suddenly broke the relative peace.

:Would you two bloody shut it already? I can't get a moment's peace with you morons constantly nitpicking each little detail of the mission! We've got what the master wants, and I intend to make good time. Remember, the master rewards those that serve him well. We volunteered for this, so try and act like proper servants for once. I won't have you two clowns ruining this for me:.

The third voice didn't belong to either of the men that had ambushed him in the forest. It must be the one that dropped the net on him, obviously the leader of the group. In the following silence Toothless tried not to give into the hopelessness overcoming him. First grounded, now completely immobilized, it was increasingly hard to keep a sane disposition.

No, I have to stay strong. I have to remain alert and look for an opening. The first chance I get I'll roast them all. Then I'll find Hiccup and we'll get as far away as we can.

And then what?

They were obviously going to some hefty lengths to capture him, so why would this 'master' give up after a few of his men died?

Toothless shifted his weight as much as he could to get comfortable. Gods, Hiccup. Don't do anything stupid without me.

I smile inwardly and feel the rush of excitement flow through my body.

I summon the grey light from within my being, and search for the destination I need.

My mind rolls over the mental landscape, most of it is blurry, but the area around home is crystal clear. It's within reach, I could go even further if I wanted, but not by much.

I tense, and pull the land around home to myself. Everything rushes past.

I no longer black out during world bending, and instead feel the full force of the world bending to my whim. The master has given me this gift, a great asset to our cause, yes, but also a cacophony of sensation. A thousand thousand leagues surpassed in the blink of an eye. To not take some sort of pleasure from this would be difficult, if not impossible.

I'm here, outside the mountain. I am to volunteer on behalf of our group, whatever the task may be.

Hiccup did his best to put on a neutral expression. "Astrid, this is Greisha, the woman that healed you."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Astrid stammered, looking slightly flustered. "I owe you one. How did you find my axe?"

"That can wait, girl. First tell me if you are willing to help us. Time is of the essence if we are to have any chance of finding Toothless!"

The village slowly returned to a vigilant normality behind them as the three worked though a tense negotiation.

" "Toothless" "?

Hiccup scratched his neck. "Toothless is the dragon I'm traveling with." He stated, still trying to hold back anger at Astrid for spying on them for weeks.

Astrid was scowling, any trace of civility gone.

"Dragons are beasts. They are violent and cruel. They killed my fellow villagers that I fought alongside for year after year. They burnt our homes, killed our livestock and murdered innocent people!"

"Yes Astrid, they did." Hiccup hoped for the girl to understand. "But their actions were not their own. For generations the dragons in our part of the world were under the control of the dragon queen-"

"STOP. Just. Stop. I've had enough. I never want to see you again, Hiccup. I don't want your help, and I never want to hear another traitorous word my entire life." Astrid huffed, stomping off with a slight limp.

"Traitorous? You left too, Astrid." Hiccup followed Astrid through the woods at a slow pace, determined now to get through to her. "Did you never go back?"

"I know full well what happened to Berk." Astrid maintained her staunch movements, but the man could tell he had hit the mark. Her voice had cracked ever so slightly, enough to give away the doubt Astrid felt. That she probably had been feeling the whole time she was following Hiccup and Toothless. Astrid had been raised in a culture of ignorance in Berk, and she had now traded it for another sheltered world view in the Order. From what Greisha had told Hiccup it was safe to infer the Maestars weren't the most open minded people to ever grace the earth.

It's not her fault, Hiccup mused, she's just spent her whole life with her eyes closed. I can't be soft with her, she needs to know this.

"Astrid. I couldn't stop Red Death in time. When the dragon queen found out the Furies were plotting against her, she made her minions kill every intelligent creature for miles to send a message. We against her and with enough force we were able to defeat Red Death."

Astrid stops. With her head bowed and temple pounding, she reconsiders.

"Enough talk. I'll join you, if only out of necessity. In return, I want my leg cared to."

"Yes child. Now, let us make haste. I take it you know more of the powers of these Daemons, so I take it you can track them to some extent?"

"The grey light their warp spell leaves behind is distorted to the direction they went. Follow me."