Welcome back loyal readers. Again sorry for what I did last chapter, but there is hope out there, slim hope but let's continue our story. Now back to the adventure.

Also sorry for the delay, my Beta Reader was on vacation, but she worked on it when she could and here you all are with a new chapter. And surprise for those that have been wondering about the egg. Just know the big show is next chapter.


Picking up the pieces

Hiccup and Toothless - 7 years old

The weary group of Night Wings descended upon a new island after a night's worth of flight. There were no arguments about who be on watch because all four of them huddled up on each other inside a deep cave to sleep. Exhaustion took Aage first, followed by his mate and then the two young Night Wings.

Heiđrún had whimpered and cried the entire flight, with Guðbrandr staying near her in flight to comfort her with his words. She had been inseparable from him once they landed on the island. She pressed into his side and once inside the cave, she hooked her front paws around his neck area and buried her head into his chest before falling asleep. Guðbrandr lay there for a while, watching her body gently rise and fall with her peaceful breathing, until his tired eyes gradually slid closed and sleep embraced him also.

The group rested for half a day and woke up around dusk. The first to wake up was Ásdís, who found her mate on his back, kicking his legs gently in the air before thrashing around wildly and waking himself up.

"You okay, hun?" she asked, concerned about the subject of his dream.

"Not really," he answered back flatly. "I dreamt that everyone died there and I was left alone. I saw all of your bodies. I… couldn't save my friend…" Aage whimpered, curling up on himself. He then felt the soft, slimy tongue of his mate run over the top of his head.

"Skuggi wouldn't want you like this, my mate. You are not a failure; he chose to save us because he knew he couldn't fly away," she reassured him, putting her wings around him as best she could. "We have someone else we need to look out for. Your friend's legacy and our new daughter and son's future mate."

Aage composed himself and rose slowly out of Ásdís' wings, showing a new confidence on his expression. "You're right. We have to keep her safe for Skuggi, but also for our son. Those two are going to need us more than ever," he proclaimed, turning to look at the two curled up young Night Wings closer to the entrance. "We do this for them and our future hatchling as well. We honor the fallen."

"I was thinking the same. We name our hatchling after one of her parents to give her something to strive for, besides our son."

The two adults began to move out together towards the entrance to wake the young adults. They came up on the bundle, seeing Heiđrún mostly covered by Guðbrandr's wings and body. She still shuddered and whimpered softly, but had calmed drastically since they had all fallen asleep. Aage motioned for Ásdís to wake them while he stepped outside.

Once Aage was outside, Ásdís nudged her son gently with her snout. He lifted his head up, blinking his eyes a few times before looking into his mother's eyes. He yawned and smacked his jaws before groaning softly. He felt something stir under him and then he realized it was Heiđrún. He took notice of staining going down from her eyes, and then leaning down, licked the salty stains from under her left eye. She stirred and whimpered, moving her paw up to brush away whatever was bothering her face. She growled and finally backed away from it, tucking her snout under her wing and tail.

Guðbrandr nipped at Heiđrún's ear, startling her out from under her wing and tail. She huffed at him and returned to hiding herself. Just before he could do something again to get her out, his mother stopped him.

"Leave her be, son. How about you go help your dad with finding food?" Ásdís suggested, staring intently at her son.

Guðbrandr simply nodded before leaning the cave after his father. Ásdís looked down at the young dragon, leaning in and licking her gently on the head.

"Why?" Heiđrún asked meekly.

Ásdís thought for a moment what she was asking and then it hit her. "He did it so we could all be safe," she answered.

"He could have come with us. He didn't have to stay behind."

"Those Silent Eaters would have gotten to us if we had to carry off your father. Your father saved us all, but in truth there was only one Night Wing he wanted to be safe. That was you, darling."

"But I miss him."

"As do I. He was a great Night Wing to all of us and that is why we can't let his actions go to waste. Heiđrún, dear, you're my responsibility and Aage's too. We're going to make sure that you and my son learn the last thing a Night Wing should know for your life."

"Just please… don't leave me right now."

"I won't sweetie. I won't," Ásdís answered softly, wrapping her frame around Heiđrún slowly and carefully. She hid the whimpering young dragon from the world while Ásdís purred softly, trying to relax the scared Night Wing. Occasionally, she would lick the head of the young dragoness giving her some reassurance that it would be okay in the end.

Finally, Ásdís began to sing to Heiđrún. She sung an old Night Wing soothing verse with soft tones and slow pace that could help any Night Wing calm down no matter the pain or problems they were having at that moment. She sang to her new daughter, letting her take in the song and noticed that she was calming down. Heiđrún's sobbing slowed the longer the song continued.

Soon, Ásdís noticed her mate and son coming back in while she was singing. They too started to feel calmer while she sung, and joined in comforting the young dragoness. Finally, when she finished, Heiđrún looked up at her and nuzzled the underside of Ásdís' muzzle.

"Thank you for that Ásdís," Heiđrún said somberly, turning to look at Aage and Guðbrandr. "Thank you, all of you for being here for me. I miss him so much, but his sacrifice was not just for me. It was for all of us."

"We know, Heiđrún, and that is why Ásdís and I would like to honor your family with our next hatchling. We plan on naming it after one of your parents depending on the sex of the hatchling. It is the least we could do to honor the memory of two very important Night Wings," Aage said softly, "I hope it is a male because your father is someone I wish I could have done more for after everything. He wanted our friendship back just before the Silent Eaters attacked and now more than ever I want to honor him."

"Yes, but her mother was an amazing Night Wing," Ásdís countered. "Not only did she calm the violent tendencies of both you and Skuggi, she had the gentlest heart in the world as well. I wish we had two eggs and name both after her parents if they were one of each."

Heiđrún scuttled out Ásdís' wings and looked up between them all. "It's all well and good but please, don't do it for my sake. I know that I'm going to honor them with my first few clutches at some point, so please name your hatchling what you want," Heiđrún said calmly, turning to look at Guðbrandr.

Guðbrandr moved over to Heiđrún, nuzzling her cheek softly while purring. The two left the huddle of the adults, moving outside to spend more time together. The two adult began to eat slowly and silently, wondering what the two young dragons were going to do.

Heiđrún and Guðbrandr padded around the island slowly, but also remained silent the entire time. Heiđrún had so much on her mind, but most of it was filled with images of her father. She remembered a lot of her life and in fact the first moment she remembered was when she bit his tongue when he was bathing her. She grinned softly and moved herself closer to her future mate. Guðbrandr leaned against Heiđrún while they continued to stroll around the island. They took notice of a couple of Terrible Terrors, but they scattered once they saw the couple walking by.

Their journey ended by a small inland lake where they both lowered their front paws into the cool water. They looked across the way to a small group of Spike Shooters who had several little hatchlings. They could vaguely make out the group resting in the twilight hours, but they could see an adult that was colored with daylight-toned sky blue with simmers of the sun dragon throughout its body. They saw another adult, but the color was hidden by the other; they did see one small Spike Shooter hopping around while the others tried to sleep. The two Night Wings stared at the sight and leaned into each other, both dreaming about the day when they would both have their clutch.

"Guðbrandr…" Heiđrún murmured. He turned his gaze to her leaning on his left front leg. She continued, "I love you, my mate, and when I can, let's… honor my parents with our first male and female hatchlings."

"It would be my honor. Your father was an amazing dragon and I'm also honoring him by keeping you safe," Guðbrandr answered softly, keeping his head pressed against hers. They entwined their tails together and slowly lowered themselves down onto the soft soil.

It was an hour after they laid down into the soil watching the small Spike Shooter family before the family finally drifted to sleep. The two Night Wings decided it was time to go home. They rose from the ground and strolled slowly back to the cave. They remained silent, but their tails never unraveled from each other and they were less than a foot away from each other for the entire trip back.

Heiđrún looked ahead to the cave entrance where Aage stood waiting for them. His face showed concern and worry, but changed to relief when he saw the young dragons. He ushered them inside where several fish were strewn around the cave floor with Ásdís feasting on two Cod. After a couple hours, Ásdís groaned when she felt something stirring inside her.

"Ásdís, what's wrong?" Aage questioned, though he had a feeling about what was happening.

"The Egg… it's wanting to come out. But… we aren't near any warm water…" Ásdís answered, breathing heavier.

"We found a small lake inside the island with a family of Spike Shooters nearby," Guðbrandr added.

"Then we need to go there. Is it cold or warm?" Aage continued, while the small family moved out of the cave.

"It's cold, unfortunately," Heiđrún said, staying near Ásdís while the males stayed around them as they moved.

Aage nodded and directed his son to guide them there, trying to keep an eye on his mate and the surroundings as well. He was looking for any threats to his family, be it dragon or human. The loss of his friend was still heavy on his thoughts, but he remained focus not only for his family but also Heiđrún.

It took them nearly an hour to reach there, Ásdís growling and hissing in pain while the egg continued to try and leave her body. She had held back an egg laying before, but this one by far was the worst pain she had experienced. This would be her fifth egg laying, but they weren't getting easier like her mother had told her.

Aage set up a small nest at the shoreline, and then guided his mate to it where she squatted her hind quarters down and roared loudly as the egg slipped out onto the ground. Her roar startled the Spike Shooters that were resting on the other side of the small lake. Aage noticed the movement in the darkness and prepared for whatever might happen.

Instead, the Spike Shooters settled back down to sleep when they saw no movement towards them. Aage thanked Nóttu for them not coming, but remained vigilant nonetheless. His eyes scanned the lake and the surrounding brush. Night Wings hated laying their eggs in the open and preferred to be in caves near water. Aage's tension was understandable, but Ásdís saw it as an annoyance even with the most recent events.

Ásdís turned her attention to the new egg and noticed something peculiar about it. Night Wing eggs were normally a solid onyx color with little waves along the top. Her egg, though, was different in the fact that it had green streaks crisscrossing the entire shell. She took a sniff of it to check the egg for any hints of possible decay. She thought back to her use of Dragon Flame while pregnant and wondered if this was the cause of the coloration change. Even with the birthing fluids on the egg, Ásdís didn't smell anything wrong with the egg, but decided to hide the change from her mate for now. She curled around the egg protectively while Aage continued to scan the area.

Did my use of Dragon Flame do something to our egg? Ásdís pondered, watching the young dragons looking at the egg. They seemed enamored by it, but she couldn't help but wonder if they would think the egg was normal. Slowly, she shut her eyes and rested with the egg in her grasps.

Aage then looked to his son and said that it was time to start watch, and that it would be five days until the egg needed to be pushed into the water. They planned their schedule while Heiđrún was lost in thought about the egg and why it needed warm water. She had many questions and decided she would ask Ásdís later once she had rested.