Hi everyone. It taken me more time than I expected to publish this chapter because I had a lot of trouble writting it. You kown, it's like, you know what you want to write but you don't kown how to write it. But I did it, with time.

I honestly believe it's an important one because of the end, well they're all important but you get the idea, and hope you'll like it.

Hiccup's POV

I'm walking on the rocky ground of the island where we settled for the day. After the confrontation with the Speed Stinger last night, we were forced to leave the other island. At least the others were able to get most of our stuff back, we only lost our supply of dry beef and some bottle of water were broken. Traveling this long mean hunting, fishing and pick up water for each meal so having something to pass the hunger sometimes is quite agreeable but sadly will have to do without it. Plus, Tuffnut has been paralyzed and still can't talk which I'll admit I enjoy. The less fun part is that we had to fly for hours and when we finally found another island, the one we are on now, the sun had already raised so we spent the morning sleeping in a sea cave under the dragon's wings to catch up what we missed of the night. That the life conditions of traveling, liberty and discovery with unexpected and dangerous situations.

I stop at the extremity an small cliff facing the ocean, one of the many one present on this rocky island where the only forest, quite dense, is in the center. Toothless, Owen, Falla and Fishlegs are with me. I chosen a place far from our camp so we don't bother anyone with our tests on the Night Fury fires. I want to know exactly what happened inside the mountain during the fight, when their blast generated an explosion powerful enough to knock down a dozen of Speed Stinger. I talked to Fishlegs and he was more than excited to study this phenomenon with me. Owen also decided to come, probably to stay with Falla. I noticed she never leaves his side or is it the other way around?

-I think we're good. We can start by targeting the high top of that rock, Fishlegs proposes indicating stone column two hundred feet in front of us.

I nod and Toothless take his position on his fours paws at my right while Owen, at my left, ask Falla to do the same, Fishlegs in the middle of us. If I seen right, it's the collision of the two blasts that provoked the explosion, so the dragons must fire simultaneously. But knowing the high precision shots a Night Fury can do, I'm not worried about that.

-At my signal, I say raising my right hand.

I hear the two dragons grunt something to each other and, seeing both of them ready, lower my hand screaming "Now".

I see two blue fire balls going straight for the place I pointed and hit the same spot at the same time. The boulder disappears under an strong deflagration, definitely stronger than if there has been only one shot in my opinion. I hear Fishlegs exclaims a big 'Whoa' while the fire lessens to reveal an half-calcined rock.

-So, I ask him, what do you think.

-Well, it's clear than the collision creates an higher release of energy thus generating the explosion we saw. Now, the force of Night Fury fire ball mostly depends of their speed and the concentration of gas in it. I'd like to see if it's possible to get an even higher reaction.

-Exactly what I was thinking. Ready to give me your best shot bud, I then ask Toothless.

He grunts while extending his dorsal spines and groan at Falla. She roars in response, extending her own spines.

-I see she finally chosen to use those, I say to Owen gesturing toward Falla's back.

-It's not the first time. We already flied two or three times with her spines extended and it does indeed make a difference in terms of agility, but I have the impression she can't keep them out for long.

-Yeah, same things with Toothless, I confess. Using them must require the contraction of back's muscles, however they couldn't clap or retract them at will like they do. Whatever it's a new one or the same that they use to move their wings, it seem to ask an constant effort.

-Did you also use it to fire, Fishlegs asks him.

-Well, no but Hiccup said it confer them more power, so I guest now the perfect moment to see this.

The dragons take an different position, with their back arched, head just above the ground and eyes focused on the half-burnt rock.

-Okay, same target, full power, I say hearing an acute whistling coming from their shining blue spines. And GO.

Two fire balls, bigger than the firsts, flew toward the objective where they collide furiously, provoking an explosion way powerful that the one before. It's so strong and the light so intense that I have to cover my eyes. When I look back, there is nothing left from the deflagration. The rock stack completly disappeared.

-By Thor, Owen whispers.

-Awesome, I exclaim and turn to see Toothless inflate his torso in a pretentious way before looking at Fishlegs.

I'm about to spoke when someone call us and we all turn to see Astrid rejoining us.

-Come on, it's time to go hunting if we want to eat tonight, she recalls us. Don't tell me you've already forgotten.

-What, me? Never, I respond which make her use her 'I don't believe you' face. Fine, we're coming.

Toothless POV

I'm walking silently on the forest's ground filled with spines of fir so we all must be careful to not make any noise that will scare the animals away. For this hunt, Hiccup decided to separate the group in two. While me, Falla and Hookfang carries our riders on our back, more by habit than necessity, in the forest, the others went fishing. I suddenly hear a sound and quickly stop, the other does the same, probably hearing it too. It looks like something eating leaf, and who say leaf say prey. I put my head on the ground level to signal Hiccup, knowing he relies on us for this.

-They've found something, he whispers.

The sound come from somewhere on the left. We walk in the direction and the more we get closer, the more I can distinct several beasts walking or grunting. After passing a brook, we stop again because the preys seem to be right in front of us behind a long hill. We slowly pass our head above the top to see sevens boars partially hidden by the trees and unaware of our presence before standing back. I give Hookfang an head's signal toward the left, making sure he understands the message, before looking at Falla with an interrogative gaze, wondering if she got the tactic. She looks at me with an annoyed air probably meaning something like 'I know how to hunt', before leaving to take her position on the right side of where the boars are while Hookfang does the same to the left.

I pass my head again to see all the boars still in the same place, tranquilly eating grass. Waiting a little that the others get in position, I look at Hiccup who lies completely on my back, allowing me to do rough movements. I turn back my attention to the boars, arc my body and jumping above the hill, running toward them. The nearest boars hardly have time to yell that I land on him and kill it by biting his neck. The others scream in terror and try to escape. Hiccup get out of my back and I go after the closest one, dodging a tree in my way. I can't shoot plasma blasts without risking starting a conflagration so I have to catch it. The animal turns right in front of another tree while I jump on the trunk that I use to propel my second jump and again land on the boar before killing it with a claw's slash. I hear the other dragons taking care of the boars that run away.

I take the one under my paws in my mouth and walk back toward Hiccup who's checking the first one killed, probably to make sure the group isn't sick or anything. I drop the animal at his left and he look at me with a shy smile. I know he doesn't appreciate this kind of activities, he vomited the first time he saw his father open a reindeer, but it's necessary. I gently rub his shoulders to make him feel better, proud of all the efforts he does, and he scratch my chin in return, making my tail move back and forth. Owen rejoin just with Falla carrying two boars. She drops them on the ground while Snotlout and Hookfang walk toward us, the human rubbing his right arm.

-Are you alright Snotlout, Hiccup asks.

-Ask mister can't be careful with others, he responds pointing at Hookfang.

Hookfang snort, smoke leaving his nostril.

-You wouldn't have fallen if you had get off my back when I told you to.

He puts his boars next to mine when I hear a tree branch crack and turn to see another boar trying to leave discreetly. I growl, the boar starts running away and I go after him. The numerous trees prevent me from running at my top speed but I'm still able to catch up. I'm about to jump on it when a roar come from above me and I see Hookfang lands on the animal, smashing it against the bottom of a big tree. I stop myself by planting my paws into the ground and look at him taking the boars in his mouth.

-Hey, I was after this one, I bark not appreciating that he taken my prey.

-I had a good shot. There is a cracking sound but I ignore it, walking toward him. And the goal is to have enough food for all of us even if I'm the one that caught it.

-Don't you dare…

I then see the tree behind him, on which he smashed the boar, falling in our direction. I don't even have the time to react that it explodes just before hitting us, dispersing fragments of wood more of less big all around us. Surprised, me and Hookfang turn to see Falla rejoining us.

-When you will have finish fighting like hatchlings maybe we could finish this hunt without useless incident. She says coming between us, ignoring our complete blank expression, and takes the boar that Hookfang dropped during the explosion. While her head is down, I notice some scars partially hidden by her ears. I think it's better that I take this one while he still isn't squished. She then opens her wings takes off in the direction we came from.

Hookfang turns toward me.

-She really have some temper, he says.

I only nod in response.

We rejoin the rest of the group, who are waiting for us, and the humans put all the boars on our back and we return to our camp, situated in a cave facing the forest. It's also at the beginning of a very large corridor between two cliffs who give us an direct access to the ocean. While waiting for the other group to come back, our riders start assembling woods for the fire and preparing one of the boars for their cooking, which will always be weird in dragon's opinion but what can I say. I see Falla sitting alone in retreat, like she generally does, on a boulder on the other side and decide to join her. It seems she's trying to keep an approximately round stone the size of an human's head in balance on her nose.

-Is that some sort of game?

-It's entertaining, she responds tilting her head on the right to prevent the rock from falling with an relative ease, and also an good exercise. Why?

-For nothing. I sit at her right. I just wanted to thank you for saving me and Hookfang. She smiles briefly before turning her attention back to the rock. I look at her left ears and can see a bit of the scars I spotted earlier. Strange that I didn't remark them yesterday when she was in the lake. Also, I wanted to ask. Where have you got those scars under your ears?

She looks at me, accidently dropping the rock that roll in my direction.

-What? Oh, you mean those, she asks lifting her left paw to her ears.

-Yes, I spotted them during the hunt and they seemed quite deep.

-Well, they are. They're from another dragon that attacked Owen when I was younger. He taken care of me since my birth, I couldn't let this beast hurt him. I got badly hurt and, even with Owen's care, the fight left her mark.

Scars aren't rare on dragons, especially the ones living in the wild like us before we rejoined the humans on Berk. In fact, it's considered as a mark of strength, too bad hers are not easy to remark because of the size of Night Fury's ears. I wonder how many situations like this she and Owen faced.

-So this is why he's always so protective with you, I exclaim remembering Owen constant concern for her.

She sighs exasperated.

-Yeah, his attitude is annoying, but living as nomads not always easy so I can't completely blame him.

-I know, we also had our fair share of near death experience during our own travels and I'm not including this. I show my false tail-fin, thinking about all the accidents and crash Hiccup and I had with. I then look at the rock she used and lift it using my nose then my forehead. Never thought about doing this. Funny.

-In that case, you can find your own rock because I was using this one.

This give me an idea and I throw the rock a little high in her direction. Seeing this, she quickly stands on her hind paws to catch it with the top of her nose before landing on her front paws, all this without leaving her spot.

-Nice catch. Come on, throw it back.

-If you insist, she responds smirking before launching it.

I back up and use my nose to bounce it one time before catching it with my forehead. I try to stabilize his movement but fail and the rock end up on the ground.

-It's not like firing fire ball, isn't it, Falla says laughing.

-We'll see when I'll have as much practice than you.

-Challenge accepted. Now, it's your turn to tell me about your injury.

-It's less glorious than yours, I confess.

I start explaining how Hiccup shot me down during a dragon raid five years ago, which surprise her like each time I tell this story to someone; how found me in the woods and, instead of killing me, set me free and worked hard to give me back the ability to fly. As we are talking, a roar, that I recognize as one of Stormfly, get our attention and we see the other group returning from the ocean carrying some filets filled with fish. How many, don't know but it seems promising.

-Company is here with dinner, she screams.

-Finally, I respond getting on my four paws and jumping toward the camp. I look at Falla but she doesn't seem in a hurry. You're not coming?

-Sure, it's so thrilling, she answers with an sarcastic tone descending from her boulder.

Even if that answers don't surprise me, it's kind of disappointing. She always keeps her distance with us during free time, whatever we're playing or eating and it's sad because I've seen her being nicer, especially with Owen or when we fought the Speed Stinger. I thought that with time, she would start to trust us. Because it's clear that's what the problem is and now I understand why.

I turn toward our camp where Hiccup greets the others.

-You know, when I think about it, we're not so different, I say.

She snorts.

-About what?

I look back at her.

-We're all travelers, even if we always come back to Berk in the end, and like us, you make your choices to protect Owen because he's important for you.

-And what does it change?

She have a very serious expression in her eyes.

-We don't have any reasons to attack you two and you know it, there no need to act so distrustfully, I respond holding her stare.

After a little moment, she look at the camp.

-This is up to me to determine, she says before continuing her way.

Arriving at the camp, I see the humans cooking a boar while the dragons gathered around the rest of the food, having already started eating. They got a great number of fish, added to the boars, we won't starve today, and tomorrow. Meatlug and Hookfang directly dig in one of the two big pile of fish, tall like a yack, while at their left Barf and Belch eat the same boar.

-Hey you've taken your time, Stormfly says to me when I sit at her left, in front of the three others dragons, while Falla takes an open spot a little farther at our right. What were you doing?

-Talking mostly. I take some fish in my mouth and swallow them.

Barf approach from my head.

-How do you do it, she roared at us when me and Barf approached her two days ago, he whispers.

-You know that I can hear you, Falla interrupts after swallowing a piece of boar which make Barf stand up (well the head only but you get what I mean) while Belch shot him an accusing look. And by the way, startling a dragon by jumping just behind isn't the best idea.

I have nothing to add and neither does the others, all of us knowing the Hideous Zippleback can sometimes be troublesome, much less than the twins but they had some moments. Hookfang then stands up.

-While we're talking about interaction, he says walking in front of Falla. I didn't thank you for your help earlier.

He then regurgitates a fish which really seems to surprise her and get all our attention. It's a nice thanking, I should have thought of doing that. She looks at the animal slightly overcast with saliva before reporting her attention on Hookfang, clearly surprised. For a moment, it looks like she would reject the offer, but…she doesn't. She takes the fish and eat it. We're all surprised but relieved that she accepted it and Hookfang let out a little but gentle roar. She responds on the same tone and notice I'm looking at her. I smile, glad she finally chosen to give us a chance.

Well, that's it for the tenth chapter.

As always, don't hesitate to review (or I will come and cry in front of your door (smile)).

Take care and until next time.

P.S.: Hi everyone. I just finished a revision of the dialogues where I removed the useless 'he says' and company. Until next time.