Hey all!
Many thanks for the great and varied feedback on the last chapter. There's certainly loads going on and I wanted to get the ball rolling on Hiccup and Toothless' trials of friendship.
Now it's time for a family to get together and talk stuff over which even in real life can be insane.
A.N. Toothless will referred to as 'Shadow' in this chapter as the Nightfuries still don't accept his change in name yet.
With that said,
Enjoy!
The Return Of The Nightfuries
Chapter 25 – Shadow Council!
(the School of Dragons – Part VIII)
Last time we saw Hiccup and Toothless' reactions to Hiccup being humiliated and how it's affected their friendship.
Now we return to Toothless' family in Deathwing's den as they discuss the return of their lost son
What will they say?
Read on and find out!
(Meanwhile, in a cave on the other side of the nest, in the den of the Alpha)
"He has an axe with him my lord. One that he claims to have crafted himself!" The female Nightfury replied.
"So, he is capable of making weapons and war! How typically human!"
Deathwing scraped his claws down the wall of his cave in agitation following Twilight's report to him. The task of re-enforcing the protective qualities of 'The Veil' had taxed the Alpha heavily, leaving him feeling drained and irritable. Since the arrival of Twilight and Nightbreaker, they had been talking for quite some time, going over the events of past two days spawning from Shadow's and Hiccup's arrival.
The Alpha stood on a slightly raised platform of rock at edge of the vast yet low cavern as he surveyed his family, consisting of his Queen Silverwing who lay idly beside him while Twilight, Nightbreaker and Shade stood in front of him. Darkwing, the Alpha's brother hovered by the entrance, listening intently to the conversation and making sure Calidus and Eversor maintained their guarding posts just outside. Not that anyone would try to sneak in, but Darkwing's paranoia was currently in overdrive since the human stepped foot on his homeland.
"Indeed" Twilight replied dismissively, "but for a Viking he isn't warlike at all father and his axe is now in Old Lonesome's custody."
"I told you not to call him that my daughter!" Deathwing groaned, "He is hardly 'old!' He is only a few years older than you! Hmmm, what else is there about the child?"
"Apologies father, I will call him by his real name next time" Twilight relied bowing slightly in contrition before her eyes re-opened, now dazzling with life as she recalled the pictures of herself the boy had crafted. "Hiccup is a very creative child. More so than any others of his kind. He can draw beautifully and he loves it. When he does something he loves, his defences fall like grass in the wind. I was able to analyse him thoroughly while he was distracted with his art!"
"And what did you see in him?" Deathwing rumbled, bringing his head closer to his daughter in anticipation.
"As I said when we first met, there is a lot of pain in him", Twilight replied sadly, "a storm of untapped aggression roils in his heart waiting for the slightest opportunity to be unleashed. Already some of it has broken through and he just barely keeps it in check. I fear for the soul that finally breaks the dam of such hatred!"
"Not someone we want to have in our midst again brother!" Darkwing growled as he paced in agitation, large claws clicking on the floor. "If he struck at us like the last one did I doubt any of us would survive!"
"Agreed!" Deathwing intoned grimlyas he ran his paw down the perfectly straight scar on his exposed neck, shuddering as he remembered how it came to be there, "if the child's rage is as potent as you say Twilight, his stay here should be as brief as possible."
"Father WAIT! There is more!" Twilight raised her voice in earnest reclaiming the Alpha's attention. "Yes he has an ocean of anger and pain in him. But oceans have depths and limits. Above all of this is an infinitely, sky-sized desire to please, to be wanted, to be needed and loved, to have a place to belong and be counted worthy for who he is, free of ridicule and prejudice. To achieve such a thing, I know for certain the boy would do literally anything and I believe we would all profit from his efforts. He has shown me he has the potential to be worthy of this place!"
"You speak very highly of the human Twilight!" Shade snorted derisively "Do I sense an emotional attachment forming here? Perhaps you want the boy to be your pet instead?"
Twilight snapped her head around to face her younger brother and rose to her feet, wings fanning out slightly. Taking a few steps towards him, her jaws contorted into a slight snarl "If you mean, am I becoming biased in my mission? Then NO! I am still prepared to follow the Alpha's decree whatever he decides!" She growled as she adopted a more imperious pose before Shade, who had backed off a few paces at her display, "I would remind you of a on old Viking saying the elder Obsidian used to tell us! 'It is always the quietest ones that snap the loudest!' If we push the boy to breaking point then it will end in death, I am sure of it!"
"I see….." Deathwing muttered thoughtfully, drawing Twilight's gaze back to him as she continued speaking with even more fervour.
"And sending him away is not the answer either! Not only will it hurt the boy, but it will hurt Shadow and it will hurt all of us in time!" Twilight let her words hang in the air as she silently stepped forward and placed her smaller front paw on top of Deathwing's huge front paw. The Nightfury King looked down at his daughter who returned his gaze unflinchingly as both of their cores thrummed in a matching resonance, "I only speak so passionately because I see the truth in him my Alpha!" Twilight said quietly, "he loves our brother very deeply and I have observed when Shadow's eyes are on him they are filled with warmth and a returned love. It is the bond between them that has made them as strong as they are! You would not wish to be separated from one that you love?"
Neither Deathwing nor Twilight was lost on the implication of her words as she cast a sideways glance at Silverwing when she asked her question. Deathwing briefly considered what he would do to keep his Queen and consort by his side and without a moment's hesitation found his answer.
'Anything!'
Pulling his head back up again Deathwing smiled at his daughter as she stepped back to her original place to stand beside Nightbreaker and Shade. "Thank-you for your report Twilight", the Alpha intoned warmly, "Keep close to Hiccup and report back with any more observations you make. I would know this child inside and out before I make my decision!"
"Of course my Alpha!" Twilight barked in obedience as she sat down, the images of her paper-bound form returning to her mind's eye, making her smile slightly while Deathwing turned his gaze to the Nightfury next to her.
"And what of my son Nightbreaker?" Deathwing rumbled, "What of my young Shadow?"
"He is…stronger yet…..not as he once was!" Nightbreaker cooed with worry, "Our sparring showed me, though he is agile and powerful, swift and cunning, he is unbalanced, uncertain and obsessed with the boy to distraction!"
"Yet he demonstrated amazing control during this evening's flight!" Deathwing countered warmly, his heart swelling with pride at his son's display. "Keep training with him when he is not hunting with Shade!" Deathwing ordered, noting the enthusiastic wagging of Shade's tail at the prospect of spending time with Shadow, "and look for any more signs of the boy interfering with his focus. My young Shadow will get stronger. You and I will to see to it!"
"We must be wary of this bond Twilight speaks of father!" Nightbreaker warned, "It did…..something…..to Shadow…discussing the child drove him into a kind of…..death rage…He did not fight me for sport or honour but purely….for blood. I had to resort to some drastic measures to make him stop before he killed me!"
"A disturbing thing indeed!" Deathwing warbled, his eye's narrowing in confusion at such an aggressive act between Shadow and his nest-sibling, "anything else?"
"He implied my death was….at the behest of the Queen!" Nightbreaker replied slowly, his voice heavy with fear and confusion.
Deathwing turned sharply and looked at Silverwing, who was eyeing him in deep concern at this news. The thought that Shadow served a different Queen, other than his mother was not only offensive and traitorous, it had the potential to be heart-breaking for both the parents who had doted on their first-born since the day he was hatched. Silverwing also shook her head slightly at her powerful mate to dissuade him from even considering the ludicrous notion that somehow, she was the one goading her first-born son into his erratic violent behaviour. Not seeing any other reason Deathwing turned back to Nightbreaker to speak but Twilight interrupted.
"Also! This very night at the hot-springs!" the young silver-eyed dragon said sorrowfully, "Shadow was with Hiccup when he fell into a violent trance! I couldn't hear much but I could see my brother was full of unnatural sorrow, pain and anger, lots of anger!"
"And is the child responsible for this somehow?" the Alpha's voice thick with suspicion, "You imply this rage is affected by this bond they share?"
"Shadow is adamant the boy is innocent of any foul-play!" Nightbreaker declared knowing that his brother's fighting spirit would never play him false and hopefully counter this new incident of Shadow losing control, "He says if you wish to know more, you must go and ask him yourself my Lord Deathwing. It seems he will not break words on it further with anyone other than you!"
At hearing these words and the slightly smug grin Nightbreaker bore in delivering them, Deathwing threw his head up and chuckled loudly, his jaws nearly ripping a new hole in the low ceiling, "Ha! His many years of wandering have done nothing to dampen his impudence I see!" the Alpha declared haughtily, "Very well! We will continue to study this strange pair of Nightfury and Viking!"
"If this bond is as strong as you both imply it could mean dangerous times ahead!" Darkwing crooned, "We must work to push and test this bond of theirs. If it is weak they will be easily separated, if it is strong they will be benefited by a united front but if it breaks violently, we must be ready to act fast to cut the backlash out at its source!"
"Wise council indeed brother" Deathwing replied meeting the dragon eye-to-eye, "I want to know all of my son's feelings on the matter. Nightbreaker! Has my son given any indication about having his lost tailfin healed and replaced?"
"How do you know about that?" Nightbreaker asked in surprise. He had yet to share that piece of information with his family and it seemed both Shade and Silverwing were equally shocked to learn of such a thing. Twilight bore a strangely neutral reaction to the news as Deathwing spoke imperiously from his platform, one of his wings draping discreetly across his mate's back to ease her mind.
"Though I have made you all my eyes and ears in this matter, do not perceive me to be blind to the obvious!" The dark Alpha intoned, "I saw the fake fin when we spoke last night, then my suspicions were confirmed when I watched my son and the child this very evening outrun the entire flock! A most impressive display. It is a rare sight indeed to see a Haddock of all Vikings, flying and guiding my son through the air!"
"What will you do about it my mate?" Silverwing cooed in concern for her son's affliction and how this might affect his future.
"I will break words with my young Shadow soon enough, have no fear on that!" Deathwing replied letting his wing spread a little further over her back as he kept his gaze firmly on his children, "For now let him enjoy his time getting caught up with all of you, his siblings. Shade, tomorrow press my son hard for more information. Test his limits as to how much he wants to stay with his pet and be wary for any other limitations he may display!"
Shade nodded in the affirmative to the Alpha's order as Nightbreaker stood up to address Deathwing, "So, it looks as though the boy will have to stay!" The armoured Nightfury stated.
"Not necessarily!" Darkwing countered "We can heal Shadow and take the human out of the equation. But do not let the boy know that. He still interests us!"
"Unfortunately uncle, the human already knows about that!" A gleeful female voice echoed through the cavern as Midnight strutted arrogantly out of the shadows to stand beside her kin. "I informed the 'Heeso' of that fact earlier! He did not take the news well".
"You did WHAT? WHY?" Twilight screeched as her eyes narrowed and plasma-gas began to heat within her mouth at the tiny dragon's brazen unapologetic attitude to her attacks on Hiccup, "What possessed you to tell him such a thing? After I warned you to leave the boy be, you still engaged with him?"
"I did what I thought was right!" Midnight crooned smugly as she side-stepped her bigger sister and trotted over to stand right between Deathwing's front legs, "You are all so concerned about Shadow, you are forgetting about the real threat here! The human scum must be told the truth no matter how painful it may be! If not, he will never be able to survive here!"
"What did you say to him?" Twilight growled, her normally calm demeanour melting away due to the growing heat in her chest.
"Only the truth!" Midnight retorted haughtily, "that he is not welcome, that Shadow will not need him to fly, that he will be of no use to anyone here!" Seeing the ire on her sister's face was not abating, Midnight continued more sincerely, "If the boy comes to terms with the impossibility of him staying here, then he will leave of his own free will, no decision will have to made by our great and noble lord and we will have our first-born back!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! He'll be gone, gone, gone! And then we will have Shadow to have fun fun fun!" a fast paced voice broke the air and a streak of silver light darted around the cave pausing briefly on random ledges on the walls, perching on Deathwing's back before screeching to a halt beside Midnight in front of the Alpha and his mate. The Nightfury that came into being when the silver light faded was the same size as Midnight and shared the same pair of bright blue eyes, her twin in every way, except that he was male. "We got to have fun fun fun with the human at the hot springs didn't we Midnight? He looked so shocked when he got hit with our dung! I thought he was going to die ha ha ha!"
Midnight and her brother Faststreak burst into fits of laughter at the young male's words much to the confusion of all present except for Twilight who, unable to contain her anger any longer cocked her head to the side and spat out a ball of burning white plasma that flew past a very surprised Calidus and Eversor and exploded just outside of the cave mouth. Slamming her claws down as she walked, Twilight stomped toward the young twin Nightfuries, teeth bared and dorsal fins raised.
"I might of known it was you, you nasty little creature!" Twilight hissed, "Did you even stop to think how Shadow would react? Did you even see how enraged he became? How upset the human was? How much damage you might have done? Had he been able to fly, Shadow would have caught you and torn you pieces!"
Though Faststreak backed away from the larger female toward his mother, seemingly cowed, Midnight on the other hand walked up and spoke right back at her wide face, baring her own tiny fangs "Well then it's a good thing he can't!"
"Father I must protest!" Twilight roared in frustration looking over the smaller dragon in front of her to her judge and sire, "Midnight has done nothing but torture this poor child since the moment he arrived. I entreat that you order her to stay away from him!"
For a moment Deathwing was silent until he uttered one word, "No".
That one word was like a knife to Twilight's heart. She believed her father to be fair in all things. She had extolled that very virtue to Hiccup herself this past day. Granted these were highly strange circumstances, but even at that, Twilight could not believe her father would allow this treatment to continue when the stakes were so high. Even Nightbreaker and Shade seemed disturbed as they walked to stand beside her.
Twilight's jaw slackened and she looked questioningly at the Alpha as she spoke, no, she did not simply speak, she begged, "But father, he is just a child, PLEASE!...".
"Twilight!" Deathwing interrupted forcefully, "It is the task of you, Nightbreaker and Shade to push, test and reconnect with Shadow as well as observe and interact with the boy, Hiccup. He may be all the things you say he is, but I am yet to be convinced that he may stay!"
The three Nightfury siblings listened intently as Deathwing spoke from his platform, their faces giving away their uncertainty at Deathwing's words while Midnight let a small smirk play on her face.
"Coddling the human and treating him as a fragile thing will not give me all the information I want. I believe one of us should keep pushing and testing the human and Midnight seems to be the perfect candidate".
"But my Alpha!" Twilight pleaded, "She will drive the child to insanity! She seeks to destroy him! You know this!"
"Any other human would do the same to a dragon if given the chance!" Midnight snapped back in Deathwing's place, "Blacklight told me what they did to him and then your precious boy insulted him, twice!"
"Hiccup is not just any other human!" Twilight snarled at the smug little Nightfury, "you will leave him alone or I swear by the Stars of Draco that Shadow's wrath will not be the only thing you have to fear!"
"ENOUGH! Both of you!" Deathwing roared bringing the cave to order once more, casting an understanding gaze on his eldest daughter, "Twilight, your feelings do you credit, but they may be exploited by this clever Viking child. The boy will be kept safe, such was my decree!"
"Ugh!" Midnight snorted.
"And as for you Midnight!..." Deathwing said sternly, slamming his large claw down and trapping the little dragon between two of his talons, giving her something to finally be afraid of, "Dropping dung on the boy that solely controls my son's flight was a step too far! The last thing I want is for the human to be injured so that my son cannot fly at all! You will keep testing the boy, but you will not overstep your place little one! Hiccup is under the rule of my law not yours! So commands your Alpha! So it will be done!"
The deep thrum of the Alpha's call resonated in all of the assembled Nightfuries as Deathwing made his proclamation. The three elder Nightfuries took comfort in the Alpha's decree and enjoyed the sour look on Midnight's face having being reprimanded by her usually doting father. Midnight herself felt the physically crushing wave of the Alpha's call wash over her mind and body while she grimaced at being denied acting out her plans.
Still, it would give her a chance to think more creatively on how to confront the child and keep prodding him until he fled the Isle of Night, wishing he had never heard of it. The scheming little dragon was broken from her thoughts by the rasping voice of her uncle and Blacklight's father.
"And be wary of what my son says to you hatchling!" Darkwing said "Though Blacklight's story is a tragic and painful one, he hates man with a vengeance, his hatred runs dangerously deeper than even mine or my brother's. I would not have you lower yourself to such a degree, where you become no better than the humans who tortured and betrayed us! We are still Nightfuries and we have our honour to protect!"
"Trust me uncle, father!" Midnight gasped, still under pressure from her father, "I will never end up like one of those filthy humans!"
"Good!" Deathwing crooned seemingly satisfied with Midnight's contrition, releasing her from the force of his will, "You will not harm the boy physically or humiliate him as you did tonight, but you will keep asking him questions and finding his weak points in case we need to exploit them in the future!"
"Yes father, my Alpha!" Midnight bowed.
"And no more taking ideas from Blacklight!" Twilight hissed baring her teeth, to make sure Midnight still understood the consequences if she took things too far again.
"Why, of course sister!" Midnight hissed back sarcastically giving an exaggerated bow.
"Very well! I have heard enough for one evening!" Deathwing declared, "go and see to your own nests. We will break words on this again!"
With a lot of rough shoving, snapped threats and growled counter-threats between them, Midnight, Shade, Nightbreaker and Twilight stormed out the cave with renewed vigour. They were followed by an impatient Faststreak, talking a mile a minute and clambering all over an over-thinking Darkwing taking up the rear. The cave seemed eerily quiet now not that all of Deathwing's nest children and sibling had left. Once the Alpha was sure he and his mate were alone, Deathwing slumped the ground beside Silverwing closing his eyes and letting out a large sigh that kicked up a thick cloud of dust.
"It seems the boy is not a dangerous as we fear" Silverwing ventured to her quiet, stationary Alpha, licking the top of his head to help soothe his troubled mind.
"Perhaps", Deathwing grumbled, cracking open one eye to survey his mate, "but there is much more I would know about him before I make my choice."
"As you say my Alpha", Silverwing crooned as she continued her mate's grooming.
Groaning loudly,Deathwing stared at the ground as if it held the illusive answers he sought "Why did he have to go in the first place? He was the greatest warrior we had seen in generations, he had everything laid out for him, he was going to be a magnificent Alpha, continuing our legacy, keeping our kin safe!"
Silverwing sighed "And he will continue our legacy my mate!" she warbled reassuringly, not ceasing in her task to calm the Alpha "He came back after all. Besides you can't blame him. He's been on this island for most of his life. Seeing what the last wars did to us sparked his desire to learn more about the world and what makes the humans hate us so!" Deathwing snorted knowing full well why the humans hated them. It upset him to no end that his own son refused to just take his word for it all those years ago. Silverwing smirked as she came back to his eye line, a teasing tone to her lyrical voice, "And before you insist such things were not done in your time, you were quite the adventurer in your youth much to Darkstalker's frustration if I remember correctly!" Deathwing was about to voice his protest but Silverwing's paw on his shoulder stayed his words as she looked warmly at him, "adventure is in Shadow's blood as much as it was in ours! He said he would return."
"And now he has!" Deathwing crooned in concern, "But I fear he is not the son who left us!"
"Of course he isn't!" Silverwing retorted gently, "Would you rather he never changed? That he did not grow into his own being?"
"We both know that's impossible!" Deathwing chuckled, acknowledging the truth in his mate's words before his smile fell and he became serious again, "Yet I sense something about him and I know you do as well. A dark force infects him and if it is indeed the boy, then he will gone as soon as possible!"
"In time, we shall see", Silverwing replied as she nuzzled her head into his, pausing before she asked the question that had been on her mind since she first saw Shadow, "Deathwing?…May I see my first-born….alone…..and take his measure?
Deathwing smiled internally at the power of his mate's maternal instincts and how she had kept control of them in the face of what had happened thus far, "Of course my love!" the large Alpha warbled nuzzling her back, "You may call him whenever you wish….but only when I am absent. I would not wish to sully such a reunion with my suspicions."
"Thank you my lord!" The Nightfury Queen cooed as she licked the side of his face. Things might have gone a lot further between the two dragons, had not a voice called in from the cave mouth.
"My lord! My Queen!" Calidus barked.
" Ugh!...What is it Calidus?" Deathwing groaned as the aforementioned Nightfury strode in side-by-side with Eversor.
"There are many of our kin outside, seeking the Queen's Counsel!" Calidus intoned formally, "they wish to know if they may enter!"
"Of course Calidus!" Silverwing replied, standing up and letting her Alpha's wing retract, "Show the first one in!"
On command both Calidus and Eversor turned on the spot and bounded out of the cave to bring in the first of many dragons that nightly sought her advice. Silverwing turned to see a very disgruntled Deathwing staring at her, his eyes narrow in frustration.
"It seems a Queen's work is never done my mate!" The female quipped as she looked slyly at her Alpha who then stood up and walked past her, rubbing his side against hers.
"And neither is mine!" Deathwing replied obviously annoyed at the interruption and his subsequent dismissal, "Counsel fairly!"
"Rule wisely!" Silverwing crooned as the Nightfury known as Ender was led in by Eversor, eager to put his concerns to her.
Deathwing smiled and gave his beloved mate a heavy nuzzle before striding out of the cave, past a line of bowing subjects and vaulting into the air.
Turning north, the massive dragon, along with four bodyguards, concealed in the black skies around him, headed off towards the snow-capped mountains that hung ominously in the cold, dark night air.
It had been an interesting evening and the night was still young. Deathwing smirked as he flew over his domain and his subjects which now included an incredibly volatile Shadow and his equally dangerous human. The Alpha looked forward to what new revelations the coming days would bring and figured that a visit to an old friend might be just the thing he needed. Venting his frustrations in honourable combat was his best choice now and the Lord and Alpha of the Nightfuries wasn't going to pass it up.
And just like that, the cadre of elite Nightfuries was gone!
There we are guys!
Another chapter done.
I heartily thank you all for your reactions to these chapters as they really do keep things moving for me. I'm taking a small break for a few weeks as my full time job will be demanding my attention for the next while. But as always I will be thinking about all of my fics.
Hopefully more updates will follow in February.
The Nightfury Ender, was suggested by my buddy Gordon519. He might turn up later. we will see.
To tide you over – in the next chapter I'm gonna throw in a little time skip then Hiccup is confronted by more stuff and yet another of Midnight's schemes. Things will indeed go from bad to worse but there will be a little glimmer of hope on the horizon. But for who?
To address some questions I got.
The main thrust of this first arc is all about Hiccup trying to be accepted by the Nightfuries. To me dragons are highly sceptical creatures when it comes to humans. Hopefully this chapter has shown a different side the Nightfury Royal Family. The Nightfuries and Deathwing have been through some horrendously tragic things in their lives which have turned them into what they are now. It took a hugely traumatic event to make Toothless the more caring dragon he is and Hiccup the caring human he is. It seems only through severest hardship do we find out what they are truly made of. I'm sorry if you don't like Hiccup's treatment right now but the die has been cast and the trials will get harder but with enough moments of beauty to give hope.
Trust me when I say things are going to get bad but please, be like Hiccup and hang in there. It will be so worth it. I promise you.
To another reviewer who left a P.M. I haven't given up on my other fics scars and I alone. A set of rather unpleasant things befell me last year and to balance out dealing with it and a very heavy workload I decided to focus on just one fan fic for now which is this one. Do not lose hope. Scars and I alone will be back as there are some fun stories I really want to tell but it will just take a lot longer than I planned to get them done. When I get to a certain point in this story, I will stop writing and pick up the others. Right now it's one story at a time. It's all I can handle.
As always, reviews, comments, P.M.s and queries are all welcome.
Until next time,
Take care of yourselves and each other.
Razor95