I think I want to respond to my viewers today. I love you guys!

ami: Thanks, you're very sweet!

BloodBendingDancer: I'm glad that you're enjoying this so much!

Onto the story!

"You have got to be kidding me!" I said, getting back home. It was completely demolished. All of the keepsakes that I had of my mother were gone. All except for the cloak I was wearing. I was teary-eyed but the tears didn't fall, how the heck was my house the only one that was completely torn to the ground?!

By the amount of snow covering it, it was sometime early in the storm. Surprisingly; my house was the oldest on Berk, almost a year now, so that could have been another reason that it was torn down. I don't know, I really don't know.

Shadow brushed his head against my hand. I jumped but looked down at him, he looked apologetically at the remains of my home then back up at me. I sighed sadly, "It's no big thing. It was only our home. We can sleep under the stars like the first time we slept together." Shadow drooped his wings then saw Hiccup making his way towards us, his wings rose again.

"Al! What happened here?" He asked, quite concerned. I shrugged, "I have no clue. All I know is that my house is gone and so is everything that was in it. Which means that all of my momentos of my mother are gone, all I have left is the cloak."

"It's better than nothing." He said, "As far as I'm concerned, I only have a helmet made out of half of my mother's breastplate. Dad has the other half." I sighed, "I guess you're right."

"So, you're going to need a place to stay, right?" Hiccup asked. I shook my head, "No, Shadow and I can sleep under the stars." He looked over at his house, "I'm sure that dad'll let you stay over. It'll be like old times." He tried to say it on a lighter note which I'll admit, put me in a better mood. "Fine. What do we do now?"

"Well," Hiccup began, "The gang and I were planning on flying our dragons through the thicker parts of the forest and seeing how strong our connections are with each other." I shifted my eyes along the ground. "You can come if you like." He said.

I looked at Shadow who nodded in agreement. "Sure." I answered, "We need a little get-away to forget about all this."

"All right, turn so we can fit." I said. Shadow turned to the side and we sqeezed through a gap between two trees. "Nice." I patted his head. "Wait a minute, what was that?" I asked, seeing something large and it was a brown-ish orange color. "Let's go see." Shadow flew to the ground, ready for whatever it was and looked up at the thing in the tree.

"Meatlug?" I asked, she groaned and hid her face. The poor girl must have been embarrassed. "What are you doing in there?"

"We crashed." I heard. That was Fishlegs.

I looked around, "Fishlegs, where are you?"

"Up here." The response came. I looked up and saw Fishlegs a very small distance away from Meatlug. His backside was facing her so after she crashed, I guess that he flew forward a bit then got stuck.

"Need some help?" I asked then felt a breeze behind me. "Help with what?" Hiccup's voice asked. I looked back at him then pointed up, his line of sight flew to Fishlegs. "Yeah, let's help him." Hiccup said.

He and I both took a leg and began to pull but we didn't succeed in pulling him out. His pants however...

"And there goes my dignity." Fishlegs said awkwardly. Poor guy was obviously embarrassed.

Hiccup and I weren't happy with the sight either but after trying again, we realized that it wasn't going anywhere. "Well, this isn't working." Hiccup said. "You think?" I asked.

"I have an idea." Hiccup said and walked to Toothless. "Get him down but be careful. He's not wearing any pants."

"What does my not wearing pants have to do with-" Toothless fired at Fishlegs's backside, knocking him straight out of the tree. I flinched, that looked like it hurt.

"I believe those are mine." Fishlegs said awkwardly to Hiccup, refering to his pants. Hiccup tossed them over and Shadow covered my line of sight with his tail then after a few short seconds, he removed his tail.

"So, what do we do about Meat-" The tree holding up Meatlug broke before Hiccup even finished his sentence.

"Could you guys not tell the others that Meatlug broke the trees? She's sensitive about her weight." Fishlegs asked us. I nodded, "Cross my heart."

"How'd this happen, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, Meatlug and I were just out, taking notes on the flora and fauna, you know. Typical guy stuff." He twiddled his fingers, "Then something weird jumped out of the bushes, it was like a... flaming squirell." He grinned goofily.

"Really? A flaming squirell?" Hiccup and I asked in unison.

"Or a chipmunk." He followed it up with. Hiccup and I exchanged a skeptical glance towards each other and Fishlegs.

"Or some other flamable rodent. I don't know, guys. Whatever it was, it scared us. Isn't that enough for you?" He moodily flew off on Meatlug, upset that we didn't take his words into consideration.

"You hear that?" Hiccup asked the dragons as he got on Toothless. "A flaming squirrel." I got on Shadow as we flew side by side. "Everyone knows there's no such thing as a flaming squirrel!" The dragons dropped back to the ground when a burst of flame came in front of us. "You saw that, right?" We all nodded.

Hiccup and I hid behind a log and I poked my head over it, not seeing a flaming squirrel but a little dragon. "Hiccup, check this out." I said, he looked up and saw the little dragon as well. It was hiding under a bunch of rocks and it was just large enough to hold it in there.

"Let's go check it out." I said and slowly stepped towards the little dragon, Hiccup followed close behind. There's no dragon that looks anything like this in the Book of Dragons.

The eyes of the dragon were mischevious looking but were pretty young.

"Hey, little guy." Hiccup greeted. "Who are you?" He placed his hands on the rocks near the dragon.

"How are you doing, buddy?" I asked and knelt to the little dragon.

The little dragon growled at Hiccup's hands and snapped his jaws at him. "Whoa!" Hiccup gasped. "Calm down, little fella." I said softly. Hiccup even put his hands up in defense as he knelt to the dragon as well. "Haven't seen anything like ya."

Toothless and Shadow walked over to sniff the dragon but their irises narrowed and they backed away, growling at the little fella.

"You two aren't helping." Hiccup said. Shadow narrowed his eyes at him and looked down at the hiding dragon. He huffed and ran off, "What the-" I stood up and looked at the direction he ran in. "Shadow!"

"Don't worry, Al. He'll come back." I sighed and knelt to the small dragon again.

"Al, have you seen anything like this?" He asked, looking admiringly at the little dragon. I shook my head, "No. There's no breed like this in the Book of Dragons." Hiccup's brows rose a little.

"I think we've discovered a new species." Toothless came and pushed us both away from the small dragon. "Whoa, hey." Hiccup said. "Toothless, what's going on?" I asked.

The little dragon turned and brushed against his wing in the small hole, "It looks like he's hurt." Hiccup said. I broke from Toothless, he growled at me and I blew it off. "Don't be afraid, we're friends." I said to the little dragon.

Hiccup came next to me again and pulled dragon nip out of his vest, the dragon snapped its jaws. "It's okay, just a little dragon nip." The dragon came and sniffed at the grass. Toothless growled and the dragon screeched. "Come on, play nice." I said and the dragon leapt at Hiccup.

I heard a small tearing noise and Hiccup made a pained face before pulling the dragon away from him. "Okay; little dragon, big claws." He turned to me, "Al, you hold him." He handed the dragon to me and it chirped. "Sure, Hic. If it hurts you then you pass it down to me." I said.

"Let's go. We'll get him fixed right up." He said. The dragon chirped again and flapped its wings. He sniffed at me then crawled around me, digging his claws into my clothes from behind. I'm just glad that the cloak isn't damaged.

"I'd better get a ride because mine left." I said.

"This is so exciting! It's a whole new species." Fishlegs said excitedly.

"Doesn't look like a flaming squirrel to me." Tuffnut said.

Fishlegs ignored the comment from the Thorston boy. "We have no idea what it's capable of!" I nodded, looking down at the small dragon.

"There's no telling what it might do." Fishlegs said.

Tuffnut lowered himself to the dragon, "Flame. Do it." He commanded, the dragon growled and bit his nose. He latched onto his face, making him flail wildly and Ruffnut began to laugh at her brother's misfortune. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!" The dragon looked at Ruffnut then jumped at her face, getting the same reaction Tuffnut got. He looked at his sister, "Hey, that is funny." Tuffnut smirked.

The dragon came running back to Hiccup and I and curled around our feet. "Come on, guys, this is serious. We have to figure out what to do with him. He's hurt." Hiccup picked him up then Tuffnut asked while rubbing his nose, "He's hurt?"

"Dragons usually act out when they're scared. This one should be no different." I said and pet the dragon's head. Hiccup agreed, "She's right. He just needs time to settle down."

"New species, remember? We actually don't know what he'll do." Fishlegs said.

"Well, someone's gotta take him home." Astrid said then all of the teens stepped away from Hiccup and I.

"I'll take him." I volenteered. "I've dealt with hurt dragons before so I think he should be in good hands with me."

"Al, your house was torn down, remember?" Hiccup said. "Oh yeah. The day's been kind of hectic for me with this little... flaming squirrel." I said. "I must have forgotten."

"Well, big guy, I guess your getting two sombodies." He said.

"No, no, no." Stoic said. "They can't stay here. You come home telling me that Alyssa's house has been torn down and we're taking in this little dragon. You know that I have a one dragon limit."

"We can't just toss Alyssa out, dad. We have no clue where Shadow went and that means that she's pretty much defenseless." Hiccup said, I rolled my eyes when he called me defenseless. Stoic knows that I'm not, either. He's seen what I've done to Dagur. "Besides, this isn't a very big dragon. Think of him more like a flaming squirrel."

"Don't want one of those, either." Stoic said. "As for Alyssa being defenseless, what about when she stood up for you all of those times when you were kids? What about what she's done to Dagur?"

Hiccup bit his lip, "Well, dad, she's become so dependent on Shadow lately that she's forgotten how to take care of herself." He looked at me and mouthed 'I am so sorry.'

Stoic placed wood into the fireplace. "Well, Toothless? What are you waiting for?" Toothless began to charge up the plasma in his mouth but the small dragon blew fire out of his mouth and it landed in the fireplace, like he knew that's what Toothless was going to do.

"Looks like you've got torched." Stoic said to Toothless. He growled and turned his head away. "Oh, that's his name by the way; Torch." Hiccup's eyes became hopeful, "So, he can stay?"

"Well, can't throw him out now. I just named him." Stoic said then looked back at me. "As for Alyssa, I know that you're going to bug me for the rest of the night until I say yes so might as well get it over with now. She can stay but if Shadow comes back, he's sleeping either in your room or outside." He told Hiccup.

Hiccup was a bit taken back, "Why does Shadow have to stay in my room?" He asked. "I would just feel more comfortable if Shadow stayed with you." He said then left it at that. "Alyssa will sleep on the couch, as always."

Hiccup looked at me with a gaping mouth and I shrugged. "I don't understand either." I said then there was a thud that came from upstairs.

"Well, Hiccup. I think your new roomate has arrived." I said then Shadow leapt down the stairs and shook himself off. "Where'd you go, buddy? You had me worried." I said and pet Shadow's head, he purred and pushed against me. "Well, it's fine. You're here now."

"Okay, boys. Your first supper together." Hiccup said, carrying a basket of fish for Toothless and I followed, a basket for Shadow. We placed them down in front of them. "One hundred for you and one for you." Hiccup said to Toothless and Torch.

"I didn't count how many fish are in here, Shadow but it's a lot." I said and looked at Hiccup. "Do you always have to make me look stupid in front of the dragons by counting the fish?" I asked. He pulled his head back, "What?" I shook my head, "Kidding, Hiccup." We went back into the other room.

Shadow looked at Torch with a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes but put a fish on his tail and passed it around Toothless's back so he wouldn't see. By the time Toothless looked down not a second later, Torch had eaten all of Toothless's fish, Shadow's fish and his own. Torch spotted the fish on Shadow's tail.

Shadow was in shock at the small dragon's speed and Torch bit down onto the fish on Shadow's tail but in the process, also biting Shadow. He growled at the dragon, Toothless heard the commotion after seeing that his basket was empty then turned to see Torch on the fellow Night Fury's tail. His jaws snapped at the small dragon and he flew to the ceiling, away from Toothless and Shadow.

"Wow, Toothless, you sure are hungry tonight, aren't ya, bud? As for you, Shadow, I've seen how you eat in the great hall and this doesn't surprise me." Hiccup said, carrying the empty baskets away. He looked over and saw Shadow's tail, seeing the bitemarks that were horizontally bitten into the middle of his tail.

"What happened there? Did that happen when you went out?" Hiccup asked. Shadow glared up at the small dragon with a growl then reluctantly gave a slow nod to Hiccup. "I'll tell Al. She won't be happy."

"Okay, Torch. This is where you're going to sleep." Hiccup said. Torch chirped and jumped onto Toothless' bed. Toothless growled at the small dragon and threw him off the bed but when he turned back, Torch was right back on it. Toothless's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, look at that. He made himself at home." Hiccup said and pet Torch. "Toothless, you don't mind sharing your bed for the night, do ya?" Toothless growled and leapt up onto a rapture. Torch got comfortable on the bed then curled up to sleep.

He pet Torch again, "I hope he sleeps for the night, he hardly ate." Toothless growled at him and Shadow turned his head away while making a disgusted sort of face.

"And you, go to sleep." Hiccup said then looked to see Shadow sitting on the floor, waiting for Hiccup to say something.

"Okay, Shadow. You can sleep... wow, there aren't many places in here. Dad said that you either sleep in my room or outside. Al will kill me if I put you outside. Um, you could sleep with Torch?" He suggested. Shadow's ears laid back against his head moodily.

"Okay, you don't like that idea. How about... I don't know, the corner?" Shadow gave him a look that said 'Really?' "There aren't many places for you to sleep, Shadow. What do you want me to do?"

He suddenly remembered something, "Oh, you can't be serious." Shadow's ears came back up. "No." He said. "Alyssa's told me about how you two sleep together and the answer is no."

Shadow took a step towards him, "I already said no. I'm not going to be your substitute." Shadow turned to the side a bit and Hiccup sighed with relief. "Finally, you take no for an answer." He said and was about to walk over to his bed but Shadow's tail swept under his legs.

"Whoa!" He waited to hit the floor but it didn't come, he landed on Shadow's tail. "Al will probably kill me if I don't." Hiccup sighed. "Fine." He said, irritated. "I'll be your substitute for tonight then no more. You can use a pillow or something. Agreed?" Hiccup asked. Shadow smirked as he finally got his way and curled his tail and head around Hiccup and stretching a wing over him protectively. He sighed, "It can't be as bad as I think." He tried to convince himself.

"Um, Shadow, could you blow out the candle for me?" Hiccup asked. Shadow looked at him but did nothing. "Please." Hiccup rolled his eyes, Shadow perked an ear and Hiccup banged his head against the floor once. "Please, Shadow?" Shadow took a moment to consider then huffed it out before resting his head against the substitute.

Toothless didn't mind as the fellow Night Fury cuddled up against the replacement-Alyssa. He was more worried about the little dragon resting on his bed and the roar of an angry dragon somewhere outside.

But Shadow wasn't cuddling up against Hiccup because Alyssa wasn't there, he was protecting him from the threat that was following the small dragon around.