Hey peoples!

Exams are over! I've now officially completed my junior year of high school! Senior year, here I come!

Warning: long and somewhat-important author's note at the end of this chapter. That, and this is my longest chapter by far. No further comments. Read on.

11 – The Purest of Bonds

Part I – The Guardians

Aurora Borealis: Somewhere Over the Sea (Jack's POV)

I looked at Tooth incredulously. "Wait, you're going to tell me about your past? Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to!"

"No!" She covered her mouth apologetically as her shout echoed around the abandoned ship. Her violet eyes met my blue ones. "No, Jack. I'm positive. I promised myself I'd do it sooner or later. You deserve to know how it was for everyone, to know that it was hard for all of us to become Guardians. So please, will you help me collect teeth tonight. I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know."

I hesitated. Something about the whole ordeal seemed painful for the both of us. But Tooth deserved my trust as much as anyone of the ship, and I didn't want to lose hers yet.

"If you insist," I said finally.

She smiled. "Thank you."

Taking my hand, Tooth led me into the sky. "I was thinking more of a relaxed night. My girls said they would do all of the collecting if I wasn't feeling up to it. A few will stick around and give me some support."

"Works for me," I replied. I didn't realize several little fairies hovering around behind the fringe of her dress. They came out as she acknowledged them.

"Come out ladies! Just make sure you keep your composure around Jack."

"I promise I won't bite," I joked while flashing a smile.

A few looked ready to faint. One did. Baby Tooth (who had been with them) didn't look amused. Tooth laughed good-naturedly and tutted. "Now now, what did I just say?"

They looked at her apologetically. I forgave them, as did she. Then she turned to me. "Want to get off the ship?"

"Would I ever!"

Tooth smiled. She took off, and I followed.

"Good. There's a little village off the shore of the Norse peninsula that's all but abandoned. No kids will see us there."

"Wait, they can see you?" I asked.

"It's a Guardian thing. If you hold something they care about – your center – they believe in you. And if they believe in you-"

"They see you," I finished. "I remember Bunny explaining that to me."

He did, didn't he? It felt like a lifetime ago since that. It was before we had set sail. Before everything bad had happened.

I nodded to Tooth. "Thanks for clarifying that. Just one thing I didn't get to ask him then.

"Ask away, Jack!"

"Is that the only way one can be seen?"

Tooth hesitated before replying, "Being believed in, yes."

"So would I always be invisible to adults?"

"We all can be. Even Pitch."

"Can be?"

"Some of them still subconsciously believe in us. Say I was walking down the street. Or, well, flying. Some adults would see me and move out of the way. Others wouldn't but they'd still unconsciously move. It's a bit of magical protection we Guardians have. No one would take a second glance at us. We would literally become just another person in the background."

"That makes sense in a weird way…"

"It takes a while to get used to. It's like how I just know what someone's lost a tooth and it's under their pillow. At first it was strange – I still remember getting a bit terrified when my senses worked – but it's become so natural I don't think twice about it."

I nodded. Tooth pointed to a line on the horizon. "There's the shore. We should be there in a moment."

Wow, was it that short of a flight? We must've been much further north than I had originally thought. Come to think of it, my winter psyches were beginning to work. I guess I could relate to Tooth on some level; I just know when winter was going to happen and how I'm going to start it. Every year too. If you get strange weather, sorry. I get bored. It kinda sucks doing the same exact thing for three hundred years without any merits.

Tooth picked up her pace a bit and I quickly angled my body to follow her. She was heading towards a village which I could finally make out. We flew over the rooftops until we came to a little building with a flat top. Tooth landed there with all of her ladies fluttering around her shoulders. I settled down beside her.

Our feet dangled over the edge. The sky was a perfect, cloudless navy; as always, the moon was shining full and bright. Baby Tooth settled on my shoulder; I put up my hood to make her more comfortable. Tooth was the first to break the silence.

"So…" she began. "What exactly did North tell you about me?"

"Well…" I told Tooth everything I knew about her past. She didn't interject once. She just listened. When I finished I watched her reaction carefully. Tooth just remained on the edge of the roof. She looked up from her feet after a moment.

"Thank you, Jack. This makes it a lot easier for me."

"Is it okay if you could explain a few things?" I asked her.

Tooth nodded and gestured with her hand for me to continue.

"I'm just curious as to what fairy culture is like? I mean, I heard it had structure and that it was laidback, so I guess it's just a bit confusing."

"It can be confusing. Even I was confused when I lived there." Tooth nodded. "Most everyone in a fairy village has a job or a role. This could be anywhere from farming to public service to accounting. It's almost like a caste system: you usually get your parents' jobs. For example, my mother was a seamstress for humans and my father was a gardener. As a young girl I was expected to go to work with them at least twice a week.

"In that sense, fairy culture is strict and rule-oriented. You're expected to do things, though not required. That was my problem. I was too busy off exploring the forests and meeting other creatures. Fairies hold a common tongue with most animals in Braziland so I would have conversations with birds, insects, mice, even panthers on occasion. That was the life I wanted to live.

"But my biggest passion was children. My neighbor, Marco, he was the son of a baker and a nurse. He had no desire to do either. He was nowhere near as free-spirited as me, though. He only said that he wasn't going to follow in his parents' wingpaths."

"Did he?" I asked.

"In the end he did. But his words got me to do something I wasn't supposed to. I took on a babysitting role. I would go to the highest tree every day and have all the little ones come up and play with me. I would make up games and stories with new rules that didn't have to do anything with what society had us do. And at the end of the day, I would fly the all home and write down everything we did in my journals. They all had fun. Even I had fun for once.

"But others didn't look up to me like the kids did. They frowned upon the fact that I wasn't 'doing my expected jobs.' I couldn't help that. I was different. Eventually my parents wouldn't speak to me at meals. It got too hard to bear."

I cleared my throat. "So you did leave after that, right?"

"I did."

"Was it…voluntary?"

"I did what felt right." Tooth's violet eyes, which had been trained on the stars, focused on mine. "Don't think that I was forced to leave. It was my choice and my free will that got me away from home. Nothing else. If I hadn't left my fate would have changed. Sometimes I think it would've changed for the worst."

"Leaving made you who you are today," I concluded.

Tooth smiled. "It did. And I'm glad it did."

"And there was a little detail about after you came back home. When you were...well…you. What was that like?"

"Can I reply honestly?"

I nodded.

"It was the worst experience of my life."

I laughed. Tooth gave me an indignant look.

"It's true. No one treated me the way they used to treat me. It was nice at first because I could change the rules to what I thought was best. Then it got annoying. They would crowd around me and touch the hem of my clothes like I was royalty! They even asked me how to do things they already knew how to do just to get 'royal opinion!'" She even air-quoted to make a point. "All because I was the appointed ambassador!"

I winced. "Okay, that does suck." Then another question came to mind. "Did you already have your dress then?"

"No, actually. I had my girls, but this was before I gave up my memories so they were basically living capsules."

"That's a cheery way of looking at it."

"Don't blame me! They were the ones who came up with it."

"But they're technically your essence, right? So therefore, they are your opinions. Cancels out."

"…that made no sense."

"It didn't, did it?"

We both smiled. Then Tooth sighed and finished answering my question. "All in all, I just wore a normal dress like they did back in the day. I even had an apron because I was more humble than royal. In the end, I left again and joined the high council because it was so unbearable. I didn't even say goodbye to my parents. It was for the best, I think. They barely accepted me in the first place. And I didn't have any friends so it wasn't like my life ended there. It was more like a beginning, I think."

"I just thought of this when I mentioned the dress," I cut in. "I heard from North that the transformation from what you were to what you are now was painful."

Her smile faltered a bit. "That's one of the good things about losing some memories, I guess," she said finally. "That pain…when I revisit it, there's no way I can function normally after it all. The pain is like nothing else. Imagine being pulled apart from every point of your body, burning the whole time. That's a little like how I felt. The only other time I ever felt any noticeable magnitude of pain was during labor."

"Labor?" I asked, confused. "You mean like giving birth."

"Exactly that."

"How did that happen?" I asked. I never imagined Tooth to be married, let alone pregnant with a kid. She didn't seem the type to me, I guess.

"I met a man, like any story involving a kid goes. We fell in love, we got married. One thing lead to another and the next thing I knew I was there."

I hesitated. Something about having a younger child to take care of was oddly familiar, and I didn't like it. It was an uncomfortable feeling between remembering and losing the though forever. "Was it a boy or a girl?"

"A little girl. We named her Elizabeth. Lizzie for short." Tooth was smiling. "She had the pinkest little feet, and tiny little fingers. And her eyes…they were the same color as mine."

"'We' as in you and your husband?"

"Yes."

Everything in that story seemed too perfect, too normal. There had to be a catch. I asked, "So how did you die?"

All happiness died in that moment. I feel a bit bad for it. The silence between me and Tooth felt overstretched, like too little frost on a windowpane. I cleared my throat after a moment. "You really don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No no, I promised I'd get this off of my chest sooner or later. I died after childbirth."

"Isn't that uncommon or something?"

"It is, but it was back then and not now. Besides, I had eclampsia. There was no way to save me."

Eclampsia? "I've never heard of it."

"It's a bit complicated. In fact no one's really sure what causes it. But the result is just about always death." Tooth sighed. "The Man in the Moon pitied me about not knowing how I died, so he let me see. This was after I had given up the thought of living again.

"I was able to make it through childbirth, and the baby was fine. Albeit, she was a bit small, but perfectly healthy. I was able to hold her and nurse her once. Later on, I died from a seizure. It wasn't immediate, though. I was in a coma first. Back then, there was nothing they could do."

I sat in stone-shock silence, unsure exactly what to say. Tooth, thankfully, got it. "You don't need to say anything, Jack. Even I didn't know what to think of it."

I nodded slowly. Then I remembered something. "Hold on. How do you remember this?"

"The Man in the Moon holds this memory. He's letting me see it right now. See?"

I looked up and sure enough he was there. The full moon with a single beam of light hitting Tooth's face directly.

"Is this how you remember your child?' I asked. "About little Lizzie?"

She nodded.

"Do you even miss your memories? Of having them, I mean."

"Sometimes, but in the end I think it was for the best. Having a life without much happiness isn't something I like to think about too much."

I noted that Tooth had been holding her dress in two fists the whole time. The cloth was wrinkled at different spots where she had grabbed onto her memories. It was oddly creepy. I didn't have memories because they had been taken from me, both by the Man in the Moon and Pitch. Tooth had hers, but even it looked like they didn't actually belong to her.

"About being ambassador…"

"That's because I grew up. Each area in Braziland holds a different species of fairies. My species of origin is the one with this color of feathers. I know the other four are as follows: red and yellow, orange and purple, dark blue and magenta, and silver and black. Mine is the green to turquoise, but we have some accents of the other colors. Each does, but we use the two primary colors to symbolize ourselves.

"Now, each species has an ambassador. Only one fairy a generation will be an ambassador. Usually there is only one because the other dies before the new one's transformation is complete. So when I came into power, there was a vacant seat in the council. Only if the ambassador would choose to give up their duties would a new one be assigned.

"Do you have any other questions?" she asked.

I thought for a moment. "Only one."

"Oh?"

"What's the rest of your story? The one that involves you and your husband?"

"Oh, that!" Tooth's face lit up with genuine happiness. "That's one I can tell you! But I can't do it alone."

All the little fairies around Tooth huddled closer to her. She let them flutter on and off of her fingers. "You've noticed my ladies, right?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Your workers. They used to be your memories. North told me," I explained.

She nodded. "Did he tell you anything else about them?"

"No, not really."

"Okay. Well, there's another thing about a select few of them I wanted to say. I just told you about how I died, so it's best you know why the memories of my husband are so dear to me." Tooth sighed. "You see, Jack, I never gave them up completely."

"What?"

"It's true. The most important seven memories of him I have are still flying free. It's why they usually stay with me."

"Just seven?"

Tooth nodded. "If I kept too many, I would only reminisce about my past. I wouldn't work."

The ladies came fluttering over, hovering in front of Tooth. She stroked them each on the cheek fondly.

"I like to only have them in times of need," she explained, "or when I'm alone. These memories are little private ones. I want to keep them safe because they're all I have."

I was a bit awestruck. I'd heard of love; I understood what it was and how much some people needed it. I never thought I would experience that first-hand. I scooted closer to Tooth. "Can I ask what those memories are? No details, just what it is?"

She nodded. As she began to speak, one of the little fairies fluttered into her hand. "The first one is the day we met. It was also the first time I had gone into a human town. It was for part of my job as a peace-keeping ambassador back in the day. Anyways, I was so distracted by the vibrancy of the place I just happened to fly straight into a gentleman trying to carry a mountain of books. The books flew everywhere, as did his glasses. Nothing was damaged in the end except for my pride, I guess."

We both laughed. Tooth smiled now. "He was so apologetic then, like it was his fault I wasn't looking where I was going. In the end, he invited me for a bit of coffee and we got to know each other from then."

The first fairy left as a second one came over.

"The second memory was when he proposed to me. We had been together for over two years then. It was summer and we were at the park having a picnic under the biggest oak tree by the lake. We'd been there all day and the sun was setting. He took me to the edge of the lake and got down on one knee on the pier."

"That's actually pretty romantic. That sort of stuff is dying out now," I noted.

"Is it really?"

"Yup."

"That's really sad," Tooth exclaimed.

I nodded to show my agreement. Then I gestured for her to continue. "Number three?"

A new fairy, a new memory. "Was when he took me to meet the parents. I was so nervous then, I could barely sit still. I flew right into the doorframe when he opened the door for me! And they were just as apologetic about it too, saying their house wasn't made for people like me!"

I couldn't help but laugh again. "Are you serious? They apologized to you?"

"What a bad impression, I know! But they were so sweet to me. They didn't care that the marriage would be deemed…unfitting. Interspecies relationships were frowned upon then. They still are, but it's not as common for two species to meet."

"True that."

"We were both afraid we wouldn't get their blessings. He was several years older than I was, and fairies usually live twice as long as humans as it were. But they were accepting and it meant the world to me.

"The fourth one is our honeymoon. I'll keep those details sparse."

"Riiiiiight…" I wolf-whistled to make a point.

"Not like that, silly!" She laughed and nudged me lightly. "It was loving and intimate, so I'm keeping that secret. We went to the beach, the two of us, then the mountains. Away from other people. It was nice."

I was pretty eager to hear the next memory. What? Can't say you weren't interested too, can you?

"The fifth was when I figured out I was pregnant. We were both so naïve that neither of us was able to put the symptoms together. We were overjoyed, to say the least." Tooth smiled. "It was the first time I was truly hit with the magnitude of settling down. We were starting out own family. It meant so much to me, and to him."

"Number six?"

"It was the day before I felt my first contraction. It was a chilly November evening. There was a fire in the hearth and mugs of hot chocolate on the table. We were wearing sweaters and sitting in our own armchairs. My husband had looked up from the book he was reading. I was busy finishing up a quilt.

"He said to me, 'Ana, promise you'll be there for me.'

"I told him it was a silly thing to request. When he asked why, I said to him, 'Do you really think I'll ever leave you behind? I think I love you too much for that!'"

Neither of us said a word for several moments. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine what it must've been like for Tooth to go through all of the things she had, with all of the loss. How losing those memories were actually better for her. And how it might be better for me too.

Finally, I was able to muster up enough courage to ask, "Number seven? The last one?"

She pointed to me. "Is the one hiding in your hood."

"Baby Tooth?"

Tooth nodded. Baby fluttered out from where she was perched on my shoulder.

"Baby here," she said with her arms outstretched and palms cupped protectively. The little fairy fluttered into Tooth's palms and allowed herself to be hugged to the larger's chest. "Baby Tooth holds the memory of my wedding day."

"Your wedding day…"

"It was also the day that I gave up my duties as ambassador to live a more normal life."

"Wow…"

I trailed off, awed. It seemed like such a simple thing in concept. I mean, it's just a memory, right? Right? I'm sure that's what some people would say. But for me…to see Tooth's happy, nostalgic smile on her face as she held Baby so gently and protectively and motherly…it felt…

I couldn't even describe it. I still don't think I can. It's a long and complicated equation of adding and subtracting all the little emotions I don't even have names for in my head.

Tooth sighed and let go of Baby, who adjusted her feathers slightly and squeaked a question to Tooth. She laughed, wiping away a few stray tears. "I'm fine! There's no need to worry."

All her little workers snuggled in for a hug. Tooth kept laughing, crying now, holding them close. "Oh, look at me! Just a bit of memory and I can't even keep it together like I keep telling you girls to."

There was a twitter of mock-scolding. At least, I thought there was. I don't exactly speak Fairiese or anything. All in all, they all seemed to be telling Tooth that she was okay, and that there was nothing to be ashamed of.

As they pulled away, I did one of the strangest things. I turned towards Tooth and opened my arms. She flew into them with a force that knocked me back slightly in the air. I fell a bit, laughing with her as we regained altitude.

That was the first hug I had given in my memory.

Finally, Tooth let go and pointed towards the horizon. "We should probably get back to the ship."

I grinned. "Yeah, we should."

For once, I didn't object to the idea of being stuck on it. Sure, fresh air was nice, but I did actually have something there that I cared about. People that I cared about. Even the yetis and Roxy the dragon who hated my guts.

Maybe that's what having a family felt like.

Aurora Borealis: The Border (Jack's POV)

It was late afternoon and I was enjoying a short nap until I was woken quite violently by Phil. He almost knocked me off the bed in alarm. Granted, that's not how I like to start my mornings so I may have accidentally hurt him without realizing.

"I'm sorry man!" I said after letting him use the edge of my bed sheets to stop the massive nosebleed my staff was able to manage. "I wasn't expecting you. Are you okay?"

He nodded and gave me the thumbs up. I grinned.

"So what brings you to my quarters today? It must be important if you're shaking me awake."

Phil's eyes widened in panic and his arms began to flail. It was a ridiculous sight, in all honesty; he was in total freak-out mode with blood running down his face and ancient Tibetan rambling out of his mouth a mile a minute. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah…no. You do realize I still have no idea what you're saying, right?"

The yeti immediately stopped talking and grabbed me by the waist and throwing me over his shoulder. I barely was able to keep my grip on my staff as he raced out of the room and up the ladder. This wasn't a normal case.

When we reached the deck, the wind buffeted us with wave after wave of power. Rain slammed the deck. All the yetis were running to and fro, tying down just about everything. The sails were snapping violently. It looked like the set of some bad high-seas film. Phil dragged me to where North was standing: behind the wheel.

North looked relieved. "Jack! Thank Manny you're here. Quick, I need your help!"

I went over to stand by him. Every monitor and handle was literally out of control. The steering wheel was in the hands of North (who's a strong guy, mind you), but even I could tell he was struggling to keep it straight. I frowned, shouting over the wind, "What's happening?"

"We're about to pass the border." He pointed to the break in the clouds. "Once we pass the storm, all magic is gone. We will need you to stabilize this!"

"Me?" I asked. "How can I do this?"

"You can tame wind long enough to slow our descent. If we can make it to ocean without crashing ship, we can sail to Berk. If not…"

He didn't finish. He didn't have to. Immortal we may be, but having to swim to shore wasn't exactly easy. Especially for North and Bunny. They didn't have the option of flying.

I flew into the storm, only to feel myself being thrown left and right. "Wind! Calm down! Stop!"

Then I realized I couldn't control it. The horror I felt in that moment made my heart skip a few beats (because it does beat). But then I realized this was the magical boundary; I probably wasn't allowed to tamper with that. I tried calling wind from a different area, but neither the wind from where we had sailed from and where we were sailing to could break through the barrier.

I went back to North. "I can't control the wind here! It's too strong. It must be magic or something. Can you fly lower by chance?"

"No can do! If I fly lower, the altitude will be too low for flying magic to work. There is no sky dock to stabilize ascent or descent."

So we were basically out of options.

I flew over to the other side, away from the storm. It had literally sucked away my energy. I gasped, drained. There was no way I could stop such a heavy ship from falling out of the sky slow enough to make it out unharmed. I was literally out of options until…

Suddenly, I had an idea. My powers weren't strong enough to stop the ship's descent, but if there was a way that it could be landed…

"Hold on!" I shouted to the ship and dove straight out of the clouds and into the ocean at a speed so fast I think I broke the sound barrier. The boom echoed as the icy Northern seas embraced me. Closing my eyes, I concentrated all the powers of the wind around me.

At first, nothing. Then a sudden surge of a storm greeted me. It raised me slowly out of the water about a mile or so away from the edge of the border. The clouds seemed to be mocking me. I grinned back.

"Think you can stop me, magic?"

I directed the water towards the ship, making a large waterslide going towards the ocean. I turned to where the ship was. "Make sure everything loose is secured! And try not to aim off of the ramp!"

I summoned the power that had come to me when Sandy had died, each time Pitch threatened the lives of others. All the anger and frustration that had been building up inside me burst forward like a tidal wave. With a mighty shout I hurled everything I got from the end of my staff into the stormy funnel.

The Aurora Borealis broke the barrier. It just made the ramp, where it balanced on the platform. I landed on the ship and called for a bit of wind to fill the sails.

And then we were flying down the ice at breakneck speeds.

I was laughing as the force of the wind snapped at everyone on deck. The yetis and Roxy were tied securely to the sides of the ship, North to his post at the wheel as he steered the ship down the icy runway.

Well, it wasn't just a giant slide straight down; I'll admit I had a bit of fun with it. What? It wasn't much, just a few loop-de-loops and a couple of sideways areas; nothing major. The g-force on the last one was tremendous too! Everyone was plastered to the side of the ship. I even think one of the yetis (probably Andy) passed out.

Then came the epic finale I'd always wanted to experience: a wave.

The ship hit the water and a giant wave at least fifty feet high flew over the ship and soaked everyone through as we came to a sudden halt. I was the first to react, jumping straight into the air and spinning quickly to dry off. Well, it was dizzying, but nothing I couldn't handle.

"Ha ha! It worked! Did you see that? Whoo!"

The yetis slowly untangled themselves from the mess of rope. Phil freed Roxy as well, who seemed to huff at me. Okay, so that little ride obviously didn't entertain her. A couple of yetis vanished below decks to find some towels.

North was laughing too. "Well, that was a little different approach."

"I hope you liked the loop-de-loops," I said as I floated back down in front of him, balancing on my staff and mock-bowing.

"Get down from there, silly boy!" he exclaimed, but he was laughing heartily.

Tooth and Bunny came out from below decks. Tooth looked like she had been laughing the whole time; Bunny went straight to the side and retched loudly over deck. Tooth fluttered over to me.

"That was scary at first, but it was really fun!"

"Yeah!" I shout-laughed, punching the air with a fist. "Awesome brakes!"

"You call those brakes?" Bunny asked weakly after wiping off his mouth.

"No, I call them carrots." I grinned. "Relax, Kangaroo, you're still alive. Give it a few more hours and maybe you'll be kicking again!"

"Why you little-"

"Enough!" boomed North. "We will get little done with fighting. Right now, we must make it to Berk without being noticed any more than we can manage."

"No offense, mate, but I think we just made the most noticeable entrance into a forbidden territory of all time. Thanks to somebody." He glared. I put my hands in my hoodie pocked and whistled nonchalantly. "Anyway, if we want to keep a low profile, we'll all need ta say on deck at all times. We can't be leaving the ship unless absolutely necessary."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because we don't know where Pitch is yet," replied Tooth. "Until we do, we need to stay hidden from him."

"On a giant boat. Makes sense."

"This isn't funny, mate! This is serious!"

"And I can't do serious too well, can I?"

"By the moon," Bunny cursed before turning to North. "He listens to you! Get some sense into him!"

"I can still hear you, you know," I muttered.

"Bunny is right, Jack. We must keep extra secret," North stated. "Until we find Pitch and are ready to stop him, we should stay close to ship. It is home now. We should only be a day away from Berk, but we won't have much time. Manny's powers will be fading longer we are here."

"Wait, what?"

"It's true," said Tooth. "There are no believers this far north. Without our presence down south the moon with begin to wane. The good thing is that Christmas and Easter are not about to come, and I have my ladies taking care of the teeth. But without Sandy's overall influence…"

"The waning process with be faster. Won't it?"

They all confirmed my assumption. I sighed. "Great. So we've got an indefinite amount of time before the Man in the Moon is weak enough for Pitch to take the throne. So we have to find him and stop him before that happens, right?"

"Exactly."

"How hard can it be?"

"Very damn hard, actually. We're in a different world now, mate," said Bunny hoarsely. "We don't get ta play by our rules anymore. Whatever's got power over this slot of land from here on out is the one we've got to stay under the radar from. And I'm guessing it's got somethin' ta do with those dragons that attacked us twice now."

"So we're on our own now?"

Bunny didn't know how to respond. He shrugged and said, "We'll just have to wait and see, Frostbite."

Aurora Borealis: The Northern Sea (Jack's POV)

Night had finally fallen after the afternoon drama. I was almost asleep, lying on my back staring up at the low, wooden ceiling, when I heard a voice.

Jack.

My heart stopped as I bolted up and out of bed. I'd only ever heard that voice one in my life, but the power behind it was undeniable. Why him? Why now?

Grabbing my staff, I flew as fast as I could to the deck. It was abandoned except for Gerald, who was steering the ship. He noticed me and pointed to the crow's nest. I gave him a nod of thanks and went up. I even took the lame way of climbing. No idea why, I just felt like it.

The moon was full. I heard no one, so I cleared my throat. "I thought you didn't have power over this area of the world, MiM."

Silence, then:

You are right, Jack Frost, child of winter. I do not. But what little I do possess was necessary to convey an important message to you.

"A message, huh?" I asked, circling up to the top of the mast with my back to the moon. "For me?"

Indeed.

As I turned back towards the moon, I noticed a single beam of light coming down to the crow's nest. Just as the first time I had seen his figure in Santoff Claussen, the Man in the Moon took his true form. He towered over me in robes of whites and yellows and blues and blacks, billowing around him in an ethereal wind. I landed at his feet, looking up at the mask that veiled his true face. All I could tell were his eyes, so deep and dark I felt like I was drowning in them.

He didn't say much, but I still remember the way his words made me feel. Cold, colder than death. Yet it burned. I didn't understand how much power existed in words, especially names. Not until later.

MiM said to me this, and only this.

Remember these words, Jack Frost, child of winter: Jókul Frosti.

His presence faded almost immediately after. I fell to the deck, gasping. The strange feeling of being squeezed by his power was gone, but I could still feel the aftermath of it shocking me.

"Jókul Frosti?" I groaned. "You talk to me now and all you give me is a riddle? Really?"

But the Man in the Moon was, once again, silent.

Part II – The Vikings

The First Nightmare

Fire.

Everywhere I looked, it loomed before me. Tall, towering spires of heat and red and agony, tinted with the shrieks of fast-moving winds and the blasts of purple flames. The dark shadow that produced the fire circled around in the sky high above me; I could barely make it out through the ashes that were threatening to clog my lungs.

Then the flying shadow dove towards me. It had eyes of amber, glaring and flashing with purpose. I could hear the roar of the flames building up in its mouth and aimed at me. I ran, but to no avail as the force of the fireball hit me in the back and sent me flying onto the stone ground.

I was burning.

I screamed, but no sound came out. The flames were upon me now, lapping away at my body as though it was nothing more than a hunk of cloth.

Faster and faster.

It was upon me, clothes burning up first. I had my arms out in front of me, watching in fascinated horror as my shirt fell away in grey smoke. I could hear the hair on my head shrivel up and fall so my bangs were no longer in my eyes. My hands disintegrated before my eyes when I held them up. My vision was vanishing as my eyes turned to jelly and melted down my face. And I cried as my broken body was charred and turned to ash. Then there was nothing but darkness. It engulfed me as the flames had just moments ago.

Faster still.

I was there, in spirit but not in body.

Then I heard the voice. It was a deep, resonating voice that shook the very core of my existence. I could feel what was left of me tremble like a leaf in an autumn gale. The voice laughed, laughed at me and everything around me: I could tell. It was not a kind voice. It was a cold and cruel voice.

And suddenly I was scared. I was more scared than I had ever been in my life.

My now-hypothetical limbs curled up into the fetal position, my fake hands covering my fake ears. Suddenly it was so cold, too cold. I could feel myself freezing by the very presence of the voice and its laughter. Everything was spinning so fast that I felt sick, dizzy, broken.

Too fast.

And then it all stopped.

I floated down, down, down; the falling never seemed to end. All around me was a mess of colors, swirling in nauseating patterns and seemed to stab me. It was as if everything beautiful in the world had been squeezed together to create an ugly memory of its beauty. It was now distorted and ruined and wrong.

Then the bottom of the colors came. Not I was surrounded by pure white. There was no direction, but I stood at what I considered the ground, realizing my body was back. But it was only a shadow of myself, shaded black on all limbs. I stared at what was my outline in awed revulsion.

I heard the laugh again. A hideous, piercing sound.

Black blossomed from my hands and painted the area pure and undiluted black. It destroyed everything, all the white, and I could hear it screaming so loud that my ears bled. The scarlet of my blood was a stark contrast to the black and white.

There was only one spot of white light far away. Suddenly, I was running towards it. As fast as I could. Trying something — anything — to escape this horror. And just as I reached for this escape, it vanished before my very eyes.

I was trapped.

Shivering with terror, I turned around to face my offender. Nothing. Then I felt a presence by my shoulder. One of a tall woman leaning down next to my ear. I froze, this time unable to move by my own paralyzing thoughts. Something about her was eerily familiar, but I couldn't figure out what. I reached back to find her.

But she was not there. All I felt was another hand. And then I realized that hand was my own, contorted and circling around me. Strangling myself with my own grip.

I was choking, unable to make a sound. Part of it was my hands. A larger part was my fear.

"Help…" I choked out to someone, anyone.

I heard the presence sneer. She came by my face, just out of my peripheral, her hair tickling the back of my neck like a thousand spider's feet. She giggled.

"Welcome to the real world, Hiccup."

Berk: The Forge (Hiccup's POV)

I woke up panting, drenched in cold sweat with eyes that couldn't focus on much of anything. The world around me was blurry, shadows sweeping everywhere. Just seeing the shadows reminded me of the terror I had felt the whole time.

It took a few long, deep breaths to calm me down again. It didn't work, to say the least. I finally stumbled half-blind out of my workshop and into the hard dirt. It was chilly today. The sun was barely up, meaning most everyone was probably still eating breakfast or out fishing at sea. The thought of both made me nauseous so I went home.

The place was dark and empty, but the familiarity of the room gave me some comfort. I went upstairs to my room and flopped on the bed. There wasn't much in my room. It consisted of a window and a door, the floor just a mess of wooden planks I had nailed together, a bed I crafted, a desk I also crafted, and an odd shelf that was falling apart. It mostly contained extra notebooks, charcoal pencils, and books that I'd accumulated over the years.

I'm not sure why I came home. Maybe there was something here that I needed aside from fresh clothes and soap. In the end, I couldn't recall what. I grabbed those from the basket under my desk and went out.

There are several smaller rivers circling around Berk. None make it out of the forest, but we do our laundry in those streams. On the rare occasion we bathe. Vikings aren't known for their cleanliness; I'm an exception. Something about soap and feeling good is something seldom enjoy this far north.

I stripped and jumped in. The water was, as I expected, frigid. Still, I swam down to the bottom. It wasn't very far, but it was a good stamina exercise. I tend to take baths in the faster-moving rivers because of that. I actually want to be strong, despite my obviously incapable build.

Taking the heaviest rock I could manage, I kicked back to the surface, gasping as my head broke the waters. Taking said rock to the shoreline, I hung my dirty shirt and pants onto it and began to scrub them down with the bar of soap. It dissolved easily into the fabric and a trail of brown bubbles lazily floated away. I followed by rubbing the soap rigorously across my body and in my hair. I sighed as I began to rinse off; it was good to be clean.

"Hiccup?"

Oh, not that voice!

"Astrid!" I jumped and quickly kneeled in the water, hoping for the bubbles to cover up my *unseemly* areas. "Have you never heard of privacy before?"

"I have." She walked out from behind a tree and into full view. One of her eyebrows was raised above her head. I realized then how ridiculous I must've looked. I was crouched in a river naked with soap and grime running down my face and torso. Not to mention I was a twig with no muscles.

Astrid looked me down once more while I turned red in the face. "What in the world are you doing?"

"Bathing." Right away that sounded lame.

She obviously thought so too. "I didn't peg you as the type."

"I didn't either."

Astrid smirked. "Well, as for your privacy, you might like to know I usually take a bath here after a morning workout."

"Oh." Well that was embarrassing. I took her spot AND she worked out. "I guess I'll get going then."

"No, you can stay. But only if you promise not to look. Because if you do, I'll kill you."

I noticed she had her axe slung over her shoulder easily. Something in her tone made me know Astrid was serious. I nodded and turned around quickly, trying not to think about the fact that she would be bathing naked behind me.

I heard small splashes notifying me where she'd waded in. Astrid eventually stopped walking where I figured she was perhaps a body's length away from me. The smell of herbal soap soon reached my nostrils.

"So…" I began awkwardly. "You like to take baths too?"

"I take them because they help me think," Astrid stated. "It's hard to do that when you and everyone around you smells like they haven't bathed in months."

"Probably because most of them haven't," I remarked.

That got a real laugh out of her. "But you do."

"We're not all Ruff and Tuff."

"So why are you taking a bath now where I usually bathe during a time I gather you usually don't?"

I didn't reply.

"Please tell me you weren't watching me before."

"W-w-w-what? No!" I jumped up to face her, only to remember I shouldn't have. I was lucky; Astrid had her back to me. I sat back down embarrassed. "No, I have never spied on a girl before. I've never even seen…you know…girl parts and stuff…"

Then it hit me. "Wait, people have spied on you before?"

"Mostly your stupid cousin," she answered nonchalantly.

Sounds like Snot. I nodded vigorously, later remembering she couldn't see me, so replied lamely with "Yeah."

There was an awkward silence developing. I moved only to finish wiping the sudsy grime off of me. I heard Astrid do the same. By then I was freezing. The river was becoming uncomfortably similar to the lake in my nightmare. I stood to get out, pulling on my fresh clothes and wringing out the washed ones.

"I'll see you around then."

"Hiccup, wait."

I stopped in my tracks, back still turned towards her. Astrid got out of the water. There was a moment of quiet when she was probably putting her clothes back on. After that she came and stood before me.

It was really interesting how different people looked when all of their emotional guards were down. Astrid looked innocent. Really, she did. All of her hair was down and around her shoulders, bangs plastered to her face, clothes not-perfect from rushing to put them on. Her eyes watched me with a keenness I'd never seen before.

"Last night…" she started. This was bad.

I played dumb. "Did something happen last night?"

"I saw you at the forge. Don't even lie to me. I went back and found the scuff marks in front of the window. I know it was you who was dragged back."

I remained silent.

She continued. "And every day now…you vanish. No one sees you in the afternoons, before or after class, in the workshop, nothing. The only person who ever has contact with you is Fishlegs, and that's if you actually stick around after dinner. I know there's something going on. I don't know what it is, and I don't know if I can be trusted with it, but if there's something you want to tell me…"

Astrid trailed off. I didn't know what to say. Most of me was ready to break off all connections with her. But there was a small, infinitesimally miniscule part of me that wanted to tell her everything, from when I first met Toothless to the nightmare. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to tell her.

I wanted her trust.

But I knew what she would do. Astrid was a better Viking than I'd ever dream to be. One mention of a dragon and her axe would be at both my throat and Toothless's. If I wasn't killed, I would be disowned and forced to live a life as an outcast. I'd lose everything.

So I replied tightly, "It's nothing. Sorry for encroaching on your bath."

Astrid's eyes became hard again, like two pieces of blue flint. I could see the true Vikingess in her emerging. Something about it was disheartening. There went any chance of a friendship, let alone a relationship. She nodded sharply. "So that's your final response."

"It is. I'm sorry." I repeated. "There are some things I have to do on my own."

"Right…right." She stepped out of my way. "I guess I might see you at breakfast, then."

"Probably not."

"Then at dinner."

"Dinner then."

I left to hang my wet clothes in the house. Next stop, the docks for a basket of fish. Then the cove. There would probably be some wild berries I could snack on on my way there. If not, I'm sure Toothless would be more than willing to make me a fire.

I cringed at the thought, the nightmare resurfacing as though it were rising out from under a frozen lake. The last thing I wanted to encounter was fire, especially that kind.

Berk: The Cove (Toothless's POV)

Something was definitely wrong with Hiccup. Granted, I observed it was normal enough for him to get lost in thought, but this was something different. I could sense something, and I didn't like it.

Our soul bond was weaker.

This had been a surprise for me. After all, it had only been getting stronger with each passing day. I tried to greet him earlier when he came in, but I couldn't even sense his presence despite the fact that he stood before me like any other time. Hiccup seemed more cautious around me too. His own greeting was half-hearted. His eyes were weary. I didn't like this.

He didn't speak either. Another rarity. Hiccup always chattered away. I admit I found it quite annoying at first, but I've come to gradually accept this as a normal occurrence. His silence was, in its own ways, deadly.

What's wrong? I tried to ask him, but at once I could feel this wasn't ordinary either. The soul bond…

I narrowed my eyes and allowed my vision to go blank, focusing instead on the colors of the spirit world. Everything around me when grey-tone. Except for Hiccup: he was a dull gold. The most miniscule of threads connected from his heart and soul to mine.

I blinked back to the normal world, stunned. The soul bond was all but gone now! Alarmed I leapt to where the boy was sitting. He flinched — actually flinched – away from me. I retaliated by thwacking him in the back of the head with my tail.

"Ow!" A hand went up to where I hit him, obvious shock written across his features, "What in the name of the gods was that for?"

Instead of answering (because I knew that would merit to absolutely nothing) I pressed my snout to his free hand. My eyes closed as I focused on the day we first made a connection, the power I felt from the official bond. Dragons have sharp memory; mine was only the best.

His hand was cool against my snout, fingers soft and familiar. It was a comforting feeling for me. I allowed the flow of the memory warm us both. The power of the connection seemed to hum. I sighed. I could tell Hiccup felt it too; he gasped a bit, but didn't move away.

Then as fast as it had come, it was gone. But I could feel his mind again. It was weaker than before, which was odd and unnerving, but it was better than nothing. I pulled away and watched Hiccup. He was staring at his hand. No doubt it was still tingling: humans have more precise feelings of pain, so it probably stung him a bit. His green eyes turned towards me.

"Hey bud."

I couldn't help but scoff. Is that all you could come up with? 'Hey bud?'

He frowned. "What else was I supposed to say?" Then Hiccup paused. "I can hear you again…"

I nodded vigorously. He sighed.

"Gods, this is getting more and more confusing."

Something happened to weaken our connection, I said. Something that affected you, I think.

His eyes asked the question his lips would not. 'Why me?'

Why you indeed. Perhaps…just maybe it's because of me. Because of our connection. You're human, more easily susceptible to outside influences. No doubt some force of some sort attacked our link from you and tried to weaken it. It was all but gone just now.

Hiccup didn't say a word. He just stared back at his feet. I nudged his hand again gently.

Speak your mind, Hiccup.

"…don't laugh, okay?"

I frowned. Why would I laugh at something that's bothering you?

"Because you have in the past!" Okay, he had a point. "And because…"

Because?

"Because this is a bit childish." Hiccup took a deep breath. "Last night, I had a nightmare."

A nightmare?

"It was so strange. I don't think I could possibly explain it."

Well, it doesn't hurt to try, I said. Does it?

"I guess not…"

Hiccup did his best. The more he spoke, the more broken he looked. By the end, he had his eyes hidden in his hands, kneeling on the ground. Emotionally, I could feel just how broken he felt. It wasn't comforting. It made me afraid for him.

And it made me angry beyond belief.

That was no ordinary nightmare! I growled. This was definitely the witchcraft of the Dark One!

"The Dark One?"

He who is cold and of shadows. He who allied himself with the Queen to trap us all!

Hiccup cleared his throat. "I'm beyond confused right now."

I sighed. He wasn't ready to know the truth about them yet. Not yet. This didn't concern him as long as our soul bond wasn't destroyed.

It's nothing; don't concern yourself with it. More importantly, we should test out the fin, now that it's been finalized.

Hiccup was immediately in better spirits, talking about what he had done to perfect the flying mechanism. Though I barely understood a word of it, it was comforting. Hopefully this would be the last time a nightmare by the Dark One would affect him, but I was knew deep down this wasn't the last time he would strike. He would probably come back again, and locate me if possible.

But again, this was something Hiccup wasn't up for. Right now, we needed to fly. To fly and become one again. I smiled at the thought and followed him towards the exit to the cove.

Next stop, the open sky.

Berk: The Docks

Only one boat had made it.

Two-thirds of the original raid party was accounted for, and a good quarter of them were injured.

Those on shore had already clambered around the docks, waiting to see who had made it and who had been lost. As the ship docked, a heavy silence came over both parties.

The injured were immediately taken to the Elder's cabin for treatment. All the other able-bodied Vikings climbed out one at a time. Stoick waited until the injured were gone before offering a hand up and out of the tiny boat.

Gobber was waiting for him; today his hand was an oar. He took Stoick's things and headed up the boardwalk with him. There was a moment of silence.

"Well," he said, trying to lighten the mood, "at least you found the Nest."

"Not even close," growled the latter.

"Okay then…"

"Any good news on your end."

"'Fraid not. There's still not enough food to sustain the village over the winter. And I heard some muttering about the snows being late. This could be a bad omen according to the seniors. The Elder has said nothing on the matter, though.

"On the plus side, no more raids. So no more casualties."

Stoick waved the away. "Any other reports?"

"We got a raven the other day." He sighed. "It was from Bertha. Apparently there's been a final raid in her village south of here just after you had left. She's lost her daughter."

"Camicaze?" Stoick tried not to react. She was a fierce girl and a good fighter, not to mention Hiccup's betrothed. "Killed or…?"

"Taken. Whether that's a good thing or not is in the hands of the gods."

Stoick sighed. "Please tell me you have some good news."

"Well, if it's about your parenting troubles being over then…yes."

At that moment several Viking who hadn't gone on the raid were running down the wharf towards their chief.

"Congratulations, Stoick!" bellowed the first woman. "Everyone is so relieved!"

"Out with the old, in with the new, eh?" said a second.

The third was only just audible as he ran off. "No one'll miss that old nusaince."

Stoick was barely able to comprehend what he just heard. Hiccup…was Hiccup…had he been…

"He's gone," the chief choked out.

"Yeah…" Gobber said hesitantly, "most afternoons. But who can blame him. It's hard for him to walk through the village without being swarmed by his new fans."

Stoick's expression had undergone several changes, from hurt to confused to bewildered. He stopped Gobber with a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup?"

"Who knew, eh?" Gobber laughed. "He's excelled tremendously since beginning training. He's got the way with the beasts!"

And in that moment, Stoick felt as though all of his prayers had finally been answered. He looked to the heavens, holding in all of his emotions as expected of a chief, and thanked the gods silently. Gobber watched this all unfold with amused silence. He'd known his friend better than any Viking, and he knew exactly what Stoick was thinking.

"Come now, he won't be back 'til after dinner. You can hound him about his techniques then!"

"Right."

And the two men headed back into the village.

Above Raven's Point (Hiccup's POV)

The wind snapped from all sides, pushing my hair out of my face. It was a little past midday and the sun was high in the sky. It, for once, was beautiful; warm and sunny with a few stray clouds lazing across a sky of pure cerulean.

Toothless and I were gliding high above the mountain that made up the southern side of Berk. The trees looked no bigger than my fingernails. To be honest, my heart was thrumming in my throat. I was desperately trying not to pass out from the dizziness caused by the altitude.

"Okay there bud? We're gonna take this nice and slow," I said, patting him on the neck. "Alright, here we go. Position three…" I concurred with my cheat sheet. "No, four."

I didn't realize Toothless was rolling his eyes. He leaned as I angled the fin. Sideways, we flew in a slow circle. I made sure everything was secure. Then, as a gust of wind began to pull us out of sync, Toothless righted himself.

I found I was smiling.

Taking one last look behind me to make sure the fin was secure, I turned back forward and took a deep breath.

"Okay, it's go time, it's go time," I muttered and we dove.

My feet clicked down to position five, making the fin streamline, going down. Toothless was capable of changing altitudes without the use of one fin (directions were the problem, that and stabilizing) but he went faster if the positions were right. The wind practically shrieked as the air pressure increased. I was giddy with excitement as the feeling of my stomach leaving my body engulfed me. I was shouting breathily, "C'mon buddy! C'mon buddy!"

Toothless let out a cry in response, speeding up slightly before righting himself in a glide just above the ocean. I felt a spray as some seawater came off from his grazing wing. We flew through rocks so ancient that the sea had worn them down to pillars. I couldn't help but glance up; gulls were cawing above us.

It was so surreal. And it was thrilling.

"Yes, it worked!"

Smiling, Toothless and I flew off to our next obstacle. This was a collection of smaller rock fixtures rising out of the sea. Easy compared to coming out of a dive correctly. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for me. Call me an idiot, see that I care. I know Toothless's still mad about it.

Instead of using the tailfin's controls, I did my natural human response of leaning back, a technique I had perfected since childhood (when all the other young Vikings would pick on me). It works against fists, but not when you're flying at rocks.

We hit with a smash. More accurately, Toothless hit with a smash; I winced. "Sorry!"

The next rock came to our right, the other side. I did the same thing. "That was my fault."

That wasn't the correct response to give an angry Night Fury with two bruises on the side of its head. Toothless smacked on the cheek hard with his feeler-thing.

"Ow! Okay, I get it! I'm on it" I looked down at my sheet. "Going up…position four, no, three."

Three was correct. We went straight up until we were past the clouds, higher than any bird flew. It was cold and humid and the air was definitely thinner, but it was something else. I was hooting. "Yeah! Go. baby! Oh this is amazing! The wind in my…"

Then everything went wrong.

"CHEAT SHEET! STOP!"

The wind, as you probably inferred, plucked the cheat sheet off of my saddle and away from my grasp. We did stop. As we reached out apogee, I was able to grab the loose-leaf parchment, but my hooks came off at the same time. I met Toothless's eyes, which were filled with horror, for one moment. Then that moment ended and we were freefalling.

"No!" I screamed as we fell. The wind was now not-friendly, the puffy clouds I had been admiring a thing that obscured my vision. They seemed to continue as we fell. "Oh gods! Oh gods! Oh no!"

I heard Toothless growl from above me. He shot down until we were falling at roughly the same pace. By doing so, however, he lost control.

"Y-you've gotta kinda angle yourself." He tried, but manage only in spinning rapidly. "No no no no no no. Come down towards me! Come down towards—ack!"

His tail slapped my quite brutally in the face. I'm surprised it didn't leave a mark.

We were almost to land now, the place right in between the low-gliding clouds and the mountain's peak. Taking the cheat cheet in my hand, I put it in my mouth and held it with my teeth. I needed both hands if I wanted a chance at getting back onto Toothless without dying. I finally was able to grab hold of my saddle. It took a few tries between my fumbling fingers, but I made it.

Toothless let out a feral screech as he noticed me clipping back in. Once I was secure, I leaned back down into our descent. We were still falling fast, adrenaline singing through my veins like liquid lightning. Toothless spun a few times until he was able to find a point of balance. As he did, we went through one last blurry skyline towards a heavy fog.

The trees were right there. Death was right there.

Without even thinking, I automatically leaned back, feet slamming into position six. Toothless's wings unfurled with a snap, wind dragging so hard that I could see streams of clouds running off of them. We were literally an arm's length away from smashing into the trees under us. The pressure seemed to increase at an unnatural rate.

And then I saw the twisting maze of now-lethal rocks approaching us as we neared the sea.

Oh gods.

Above Raven's Point (Toothless's POV)

This was it.

I'd heard somewhere that a downed dragon was a dead dragon. This was true. No dragon had tried to fly again after that, but there was a first for everything. And now I was the first dragon to have tried and failed.

I glanced up. Hiccup had his cheat sheet in one hand, the thing fluttering so violently that there was no way he could decipher the writing. Even I knew that. The rocks were growing larger now, nearly to us. If it wasn't for the fact that I had my wings out to stabilize our descent, I would've tucked them in and prepared for a painful impact.

And then a transformation occurred.

Time seemed to slow down as I watched Hiccup. His fear from the oncoming danger vanished, replaced by a confident glimmer in his eyes. The most miniscule of smiles formed on his thin lips as he leaned forward in the saddle, grabbing the front of the seat tightly. The cheat sheet flew from his hand and over his shoulder, forgotten.

I felt a foreign heat grow in my chest, brighter and more painful than anything I'd ever felt before. But I bit it back; I was a Night Fury, not some common reptile. I would prevail. Embracing this inner fire, I leaned forward with Hiccup, feeling him ready himself.

We breathed together, hovering in a wave of surreal existence. Our lives hung in the balance, yet I didn't feel any of that. The fire was coursing through my veins, thrumming with life and truth and power. Suddenly, the pain was no longer there. In its place was a shimmering memory of warmth, one I recognized as Hiccup's. His soul. In that moment, I felt his entirety connected to mine in a way I'd could have never in a million moons fathomed.

And then the moment ended.

The rocks grew even more ominously than before, but all thoughts of death had vanished. In their place was one thought:

Fly.

And we did as one.

Left. Right. Left. Right again, left again. Down. Soon I couldn't tell if the thoughts were mine or not. It wasn't just my movements; they were no longer just Hiccup's either. It was as though we had identical ideas in the air. The flow of my turns was natural, as though I'd been flying with a rider all of my life.

With Hiccup. He leaned back and forth with our flight, not trying to manipulate it in any way. The only indication I had that he was indeed still controlling was the slight click from the foot pedals above the roar of the wind.

I rolled upside-down in the air through a hole in the rocks. Hiccup's body was flat against mine; he popped up and snapped me back upright without a thought. Neither of us was thinking. We were doing. It was like breathing or speaking: natural.

The flight had only lasted for a matter of moments as we shot through the last of the blackened rocky crags. Already the mist had cleared. We glided over the ocean. Alive. We were alive, unharmed, and very much astounded by what had just occurred.

I looked up at Hiccup, who was looking straight ahead in shock. Then his spindly arms went straight above his head as he gave a very loud and equally breathless shout. I smiled, understanding exactly how he felt. And in a more technical way than before.

It was there. The soul bond. Stronger and closer than it had ever been. It was as though we had been made into one functioning unit. It wasn't the human and the dragon anymore. Sky to earth, it wasn't even dragon and rider! This was more than just testing out how to fly. This was actual flying! We had been flying! As one!

A complete soul bond.

I laughed, shooting a bolt of flame in celebration. I didn't realize how much this would affect Hiccup.

"Aw, c'mon!" he groaned loudly as we were engulfed.

Berk: The Shore (Hiccup's POV)

I blinked rapidly, trying to stop my eyelids from sticking wide open. It worked, though I felt a few singed eyebrows falling out as I did. In fact, just about everything I had been wearing was burned at some point. The ends of my hair would need trimming too once I was able to get it out of its blown-back position. It was stiffer than tree bark, I swear!

I'd caught a glance at myself in the water's reflection after we'd landed; Toothless had laughed so hard while I yelled at him. Seriously, I wasn't presentable like this! What would everyone think if I walked into town looking like that? Hopefully, I could pass a silly story like coming into contact with a Timberjack or something, but it was highly unlikely.

I heard a hacking sound and saw that Toothless had regurgitated half of his fish for me again; this time it was the head.

"No thanks, I'm all good." To make a point, I even gestured at the fish I had roasting over the fire that he'd made for me to dry off with.

Whatever, he muttered.

I was going to reply when I heard the flutter of wings. The two of us looked up to see a group of three Terrible Terrors making their way towards the rocky shore we were resting at. They landed and immediately began to scuttle towards us.

"Huh, Terrors," I noted. "I wonder what they want with us?"

Toothless growled from the back of his throat, wrapping his front paws around the fish we'd caught protectively. Filthy scavengers! Away with you!

"Aw, don't be like that. They're just Terrors. And they're adorable!"

I seriously doubt your judgment at the moment, Toothless deadpanned.

"Yeah yeah, I love you too, bud," I grumbled.

The first went straight of Toothless's fish. He growled and frightened it away, but not before its companion was able to get a hold of one. The head Toothless had regurgitated, to be specific. As it started to nibble on the end, one of its companions attacked. The two got into a spat, firing flames at each other.

I watched in fascination. Toothless just looked bored. Then he turned as one of his fish moved away. The third Terror had somehow managed to sneak past him and took it by the tail. Toothless retaliated immediately, grabbing the head of the fish and holding it in place as the green dragon tried desperately to pull it away.

I could tell Toothless was teasing it, showing off his strength. Almost immediately he became bored. Allowing the Terror another pull he yanked the fish away and swallowed, laughing tauntingly. The Terror spat out the ends of the tail, which was all it had gotten, and began to claw the ground, growling. Its chest puffed out as it readied its attack. Then when it opened its mouth, Toothless shot—more like spat—a bolt of purple flame into it.

The Terror went down, smoke furling out of its nostrils. The sight was a mix between comical, pitying, and downright funny. Chuckling, I took my fish and tossed it over to the little dragon.

"Here you go. That's to apologize for my idiot dragon."

Idiot? You dare call me that?

I ignored him. I'd probably get a scolding for that later.

The Terror ate up the fish in literally one go. It didn't even bite it, just swallowed. I'm not sure how it was able to manage that. Then the dragon looked at me in a friendly way. I smiled back. It sidled over and curled up by my hand, purring like a content domestic animal. I stroked it along its scaly green back, thinking.

Then it hit me.

"Everything we know about you…is wrong."

As I said those words, the sudden realization was a bit staggering. I'd known for a while that dragons weren't what we Vikings made them out to be at first. Meeting Toothless changed that. But all the others, they were just as innocent.

So why do they take our food? Why do they kill us? Why are they focused on the children?

I groaned at the conflict building up inside of me. Killing was almost explainable. Self-defense. No one would want to take of a Viking's might (and stench) head-on. Food, on the other hand, was strange to me. Sure, sheep are good, but there're all kinds of other meats dragons could probably eat with less of a hassle. Like fish. Or elk. Even some large birds. So why us?

And why the kids?

I opened my mouth to ask Toothless about that when I saw a shadow pass over the horizon. I stood up and walked over to the edge of the shore, staring into the blinding sun.

Toothless looked up from his meal. What is it?

"I thought I saw something over yonder."

Well, I didn't, he said with a shrug.

Then I saw it again. I pointed. "There! Do you see it? It looked like some kind of ship."

Toothless looked at me, puzzled.

I walked back over to him. "Come on, let's go take a look." When he gave me an indignant look, I asked, "What? Don't tell me you're not curious as to what a mysterious ship is doing right off the island of Berk."

I'm not, he stated.

"Can't you at least take me to see it?" I begged, then I bribed. "I'll give you an extra basket of fish tomorrow."

No.

"Please?"

I've got my fish and it's fabulous. Why should I need more when you'll take me hunting again tomorrow? Perhaps we can find some real meat in the forest.

"For the last time, going where Astrid, or any other Viking for that matter, is around is too risky!"

So what? It's not like they could hurt us.

"But they could recognize me?"

So make a disguise. You humans are good at crafting things, right?

"That's not the point!"

He huffed. I don't want to fly. I want to sit here, enjoy the view, and eat.

"Ugh, lazy dragon!"

Insufferable human!

We glared at each other, then Toothless started to laugh. My eyes narrowed. "What?"

You really are something, aren't you? Such a stubborn, pig-headed boy when you really want something! He continued to chuckle, mouth turning up on the ends. I had to hand it to him; he was really getting the hang of smiling.

Still, I didn't appreciate being laughed at. "Is that an insult?"

I didn't mean it to be. Sorry if it was.

His apology was sincere. I smiled and sat back down. "Okay then. But I still really want to check out that ship!"

After I've finished eating. Don't rush me, Toothless said while swallowing his fish. Damn, telepathy was really useful in these situations.

"Wait, you'll take me?" I didn't believe him at first.

He nodded. Well, of course. I don't think I could stand your whining if I never took you.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered. He snorted.

The Terrors soon left, flying south. All, that was, except one. I watched as the one that curled up against me flew north-northwest. Not that I really cared, but it struck me as a bit odd that the one pack animal was leaving the rest of its group.

Toothless stood up and gestured for me go get on. I jumped onto the saddle without a hitch in my step. It took a single fluid motion to buckle in.

You've become more agile, he noted.

"Yeah, it's called chasing you around every time I say the word 'flying,'" I teased.

He retaliated by taking off straight into the sky. It threw me off, literally. If it wasn't for my vest hooks, I would've surely fallen. I got my revenge, though. I turned Toothless's fin so he was flipped upside-down. Toothless shrieked and tried to right himself. We barely managed control before crashing into the ocean.

Toothless shot out angrily as I laughed.

What in sky's name were you thinking! You could've drowned us if you weren't careful!

"Relax, we came out unharmed," I stated.

He slapped me in the face for the second time with his feelers (we agreed to call them feelers since they literally felt the air around him; Toothless was saying something about receiving signals from somewhere, but I wasn't really sure what he meant).

"Ow! Okay, I'm sorry."

Of course you are. I hit you.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. Toothless chucked and we flew off towards the receding ship.

WARNING: LONG- $$ AUTHOR'S NOTE WITH IMPORANT INFORMATION!
(okay, not so important stuff first)

:'D

I finally wrote the soul bond! Oh, I'm so happy!

And I was trying to portray Astrid as less of a b*tch. I'm sick and tired of people telling me she's a whore and deserves to die. (Then again, just about all of my friends ship Toothcup).

On a completely unrelated note, I got to see Star Trek Into Darkness opening weekend! OMG BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH; I've loved him since Sherlock, but this!
*the feels~ the feels~ squeeeeeeeee~*

…anyway…now that I'm done with fanboying in the corner…
(the important stuff)

I have two announcements.

Firstly, this is my last update for a little while. I will be unable to update for the entire month of June because I will be vacationing/visiting family in Japan. I'm actually going to the airport tomorrow really-freaking-early-morning, so I'm lucky I got this chapter done in time! :D
I know I've had months where I didn't update, but this one is a legitimate reason: I will not have access to Internet or a computer for the majority of the time. I'll have occasional email and PMing capabilities so I'll see all the beautiful or ugly reviews anyone wants to leave. And even that's pushing it; Japan has surprisingly low WiFi availability.

Secondly, I want to make this story more interesting by having input. Please leave a review if you want me to go into a specific character's past or have them more actively involved with the main plot. I know I've personally wanted to have a bit more on the other major Vikings, but I'm not too keen on doing it without everyone else's opinions. It'll diverge from the main plot, but it would be something else to go on with how each person became who they were (in my imagination). Give me a heads-up if you want this as well and have ideas for characterization; I'm open to it all.

That is that. Thanks to everyone for their continual support. See you in a month or so!

And don't forget to review if you have a chance! :D

-Sushi