AN: Ha! Bet you didn't expect this! Chapter within a week! BAM! Anyway, I won't harass you with any more speechifying, except to tell you that LEPShot still the inspiration he's been for the past chapters. I'll let you get on with it. Review for updates as fast as this one!
Chapter 28
Hiccup
As soon as they stepped past the passageway entrance, Hiccup threw his mind at Ryshkaa.
"Are you alright?!" Ryshkaa walked ahead beside Alda, and while his step was sure and steady, her legs shook every time she put them down. Her breathing was heavy and panting, and her folded wings drooped slightly, much like the aged Shade beside her. The reply was tired and amused.
"I'm fine, Hiccup. Just a bit of fatigue and a splitting headache."
Beside Hiccup, Toothless' stride became slightly heavier, and the boy heard a distinctly annoyed snort pass from his snout. "What happened back there?"
This time, the voice that responded was masculine, and it fell far more heavily on the listener's minds, with the authority of what Hiccup assumed was experience.
"What happened was those three pieces of chum decided that they would just fish the story out of young Ryshkaa's mind without her permission. They have no respect for younger Shades' privacy. Well, we couldn't let your true role in the story come to light, Hiccup, so I helped Ryshkaa to conceal some memories. The toll on her was heavy though. She needs some rest." Both Hiccup and Toothless' eyes widened as they heard the old Shade refer to Hiccup by name. "Oh, for the love of the stars, you didn't think I was going to disbelieve my own senses, did you? That's the problem with youth today. Think they know everything."
This last statement had quieted down in volume, as if the speaker had turned away, and Hiccup got the distinct impression that Alda was thinking to himself.
"Where was I?" After a moment the voice rose in elation. "Ah yes! Now, we're going to need to work quickly. Toothless, they'll want to assign you to a Wing as soon as possible, given your age. So, I must teach you two to function independently in a very short amount of time. That might be difficult, but it must be done. Now, stick close. When you don't know this place's tricks you can get turned around pretty easily."
All through the time Alda had been speaking, the group had continued on a slightly downwardly-sloped path through solid rock, still warm for reasons Hiccup did not yet know. But now, the tunnel branched, and the light waves passing from Toothless' mouth outlined four separate passageways, one of which they were standing in, the other three all moving away in different directions. Alda and Ryshkaa took the right fork.
There followed such a confusing mass of twists and turns through solid stone that Hiccup quickly lost track of where he was. There were branchings everywhere and multiple times Hiccup thought they'd doubled back because almost every passageway looked the same. What he did note was that they were constantly sloping downwards, and the air was getting slightly warmer, the farther they descended.
Toothless was not very comfortable with the fact that the entire tunnel network cut through solid stone. Shade's were naturally creatures of the sky. They constructed a den to raise their hatchlings of course, but those were usually made of snow. Easily destroyed. Here, Toothless felt constricted, and Hiccup placed his left hand on his mate's neck, stroking back and forth, trying to sooth him.
Toothless did not like the fact that Hiccup was soothing him, though he kept his feelings secured behind closed thoughts. He was the provider. He was the protector. Nothing as silly as a cave should put him off shook his head. He knew that Hiccup at least had faith in him. But that in itself was horrible thought. What if Hiccup's faith was disappointed? What if he failed at some point in the future? He would not be able to bear the shame. Or the sorrow he knew would fill Hiccup's face.
Toothless' tail lashed, and with one step he lifted his head high and clamped his jaw down on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup gave a shuddering gasp and fell to one knee, limbs frozen while his head tilted back and his eyes rolled.
At exactly the same time, another Shade passed across the tunnel they stood in. At once, Ryshkaa opened her jaw wide and stretched out her wings, giving the mighty semblance of a yawn. The Shade ahead paused, then continued on his way.
Toothless regained control of himself a moment later and released his hold. Hiccup's cloak had been slightly crumpled at the shoulder, but nothing more. A very small drop of saliva was making it's way down the side of the boy's jaw from the corner of his mouth.
Hiccup was just turning to smile quizzically at Toothless, when Ryshkaa's angry voice interrupted them. Each of her words was distinct, punctuated with very precise and staccato pronunciation. "I would suggest that you keep your physical urges under control whilst you are here. I guarantee that almost any Shade in this mountain that sees you engaged in such activity would challenge you to a fight instantly."
Toothless' reply was calm and dangerously quiet. "I'm not going to apologise for my actions. I'm fully entitled, but I promise that we will remain discreet in the future."
"See that you do." The female folded her wings.
The awkward silence that followed, was shattered by the loud and powerful voice of Alda. "Well! Things get about twice as exciting with you two here! This is fantastic! Now come, my hall is near." And indeed it was. After only four more turns and plenty of walking, they came to a single archway.
Hiccup blinked and rubbed his eyes. Color was leaking out of that archway. There was light. He was able to see an icy blue glow, emanating through it. His eyes had become accustomed to the complete darkness, so for a moment he just stood and blinked. Then, with apprehensive steps, he passed through the archway with the others.
The sight that greeted him stretched his mouth into a massive "O" of amazement. He was standing at the base of a massive space that extended up what would have been well over ten floors of a house in Berk, and out to either side a good four hundred feet. In the center of the space, a large column ran from floor to ceiling, its surface segmented into six panes, making Hiccup suspect that it had been shaped. Every single surface was shiny, reflective, and perfectly smooth.
On every single surface, on almost every square inch, ice-blue drawings were inscribed. Because the space behind the reflective surfaces was pitch black, each inscription appeared to just be floating in space, independent of gravity. The symbols were as varied as the snowflakes that fell from the sky in Berk. Every now and again, the symbols would glow brighter for a second, as if a light had passed over them, but the flickers were rather dull and sparse.
Moving closer to the column, Hiccup could make out the specifics of individual runes. One was a very simple drawing, a wide "X" connected on either side by a half circle. Another, just above it, bore resemblance to the waves of the violent tides, with sharp, curving lines stacked upon each other, seemingly moving in the same direction.
The wingbeats of a Shade off to his right tore his eyes away from the massive structure, and Hiccup observed an immense, circular chamber of obsidian. There were ten or twelve floors above him, each stacked upon the other with about fifteen feet between them, and faint blue lights spilled over the unprotected lips of the landings. Hiccup's neck was starting to hurt as he gazed upwards. The light was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. Everything was dark, and black, so it almost looked like the room went on forever, but the light from the runes reflected off of the walls and floor, thus defining the actual space.
"Alright then, you can both stop staring. We need to get this done." Both Hiccup and Toothless dropped their gazes to stare at Alda. "Right, now, Toothless, as I said, since you're so young, they'll want to assign you to a Battle Wing at once. You'll train and learn from the group you're put into, and eventually you'll help take down the Queen."
"What if I don't want to?"
"Then you'll be kicked out of Home Cave, and if we fail you'll feel a horrendous sense of guilt for the rest of your miserable and pathetic life." A low snarl ripped it's way through Toothless' throat and his wings unfurled slightly. "Now then, they won't want Hiccup here running around without knowing he's not dangerous. I'm going to keep him here, under the pretense of assessing his mental capacity and the threat he poses.
"Now, in order for this to work, you are going to have to learn to act and think independently of each other. The Three have set very complex and unnecessary rules in place to keep every Shade focussed on the task at hand; defeating the Queen. You two must be careful with your contact. Once you're seperate, Hiccup will learn from me, and he'll have a far better chance of surviving a life amongst dragons. You will go and learn the same from whatever Wing they assign you to. Understood?!"
The last word was spoken so loudly, that Hiccup and Toothless both jumped.
What do you think, Hiccup? This whole thing sounds suspicious.
Really? I think if they meant us harm they'd have already killed us. This sounds like a good idea to me. Toothless let out a puff of smoke.
Very well. But just know that all you need do is call, and I'll be by your side in moments. Hiccup grinned, then turned and leapt onto Toothless' back, biting down on his ear. Toothless' front left leg buckled and his eyes rolled.
"I swear to the spirits..." Ryshkaa was lashing her tail in an annoyed fashion.
Hiccup immediately leapt off of Toothless and said, "Yes, we're ready." Behind him, Toothless panted and gasped, partially kneeling on one leg.
Alda sighed. "This is going to be difficult since you two are so newly mated. But I think it will strengthen your bond in the long run."
"Yippee." Toothless glared at Ryshkaa.
"Now, Hiccup, how familiar are you with your own mindspace?" Hiccup smiled.
"Toothless taught me about that. I can get into it and out of it alright, but working within it is still difficult."
"Hmm, it might be a good idea to let myself and Ryshkaa assist you two in this." The smile on Hiccup's face dropped and he glanced between Ryshkaa and Toothless. The male looked about ready to kill.
Alright Toothless, this time, it will be expected, and everything will be fine ok? Please? Toothless snarled. For me?
The snarl petered out and rose in pitch to a whimper. Hiccup rested a hand on the large dragon's head. It's gonna be fine.
In that moment. Toothless' eyes widened. This was not how it should be. He didn't need consoling. It should be him offering comfort. The shame and anger washed across his mind before he could pull it back and a single tear formed in his large and emerald eye. He realized that if the torrent of unhappiness went unchecked, it would cross to Hiccup, and that would only make matters worse. With a jerk and a roar, he wrenched his thoughts away from Hiccup.
For a moment, Hiccup tried to hold on, but then, calm and powerful thoughts of peace overcame him with overwhelming authority, and he found himself moving in the opposite direction of Toothless' mind. When Toothless spoke next, it echoed, and sounded flat, like any other dragon's voice.
"Where should I go?"
"Go back to The Three, and tell them that I sent you. They'll assign you to a Wing. And whatever you do, don't reveal memories of this to anyone."
Toothless' nodded, then turned and walked out through the doorway without another word.
"Go with him Ryshkaa. Make sure he doesn't get lost."
Hiccup, in the meantime, was reeling. He was so alone. it was dark all around. There was no one there. And there never would be. The empty space where Toothless' memories and mind should reside was aching and painful. It was as though someone had shoved a knife into his mind, and then left it there. As Alda lifted a wing over the young human, Hiccup began to cry.
Ryshkaa caught up to Toothless in moments. Toothless did not even notice. In the space where Hiccup should be, he covered the pain with his goal. His new purpose. When he saw Hiccup next, he'd be a Shade worth calling upon. He would never let his Hiccup down, and if he had to pull this entire mountain down around The Three's ears to become that dragon, then so be it.
XXX
Stoick
In the muggy and smoke-filled air of the mead hall, the atmosphere was subdued. Three young warriors had sucumbed to rash decision and gone barreling into the claws of the enemy. Now, the sound that could be most easily be heard was the slow and gasping breaths of Stoick the Vast.
The massive man lay on his back amongst the furs that the healer had somehow managed to scrounge from the meager supplies. His enormous, bare chest rose shakily, then fell swiftly. Each and every breath was a gasp. His pale skin, that had only a few days previous, glowed with the prime of life and the energy of a much younger man, was now marred and disfigured. Great, wide swathes of angry red burns roved over his body, and in places, the flesh was dead and limp, hanging from his frame and displaying the color of ash.
The Elder sat beside the enormous man with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Stoick was asleep at the moment, which was good. Every moment he could spend in unconsciousness was probably beneficial to his sanity. Vikings with lung burns had been known to fall to insanity due to the lack of oxygen.
Without opening her eyes, the Elder reached to the side and lifted the warm cloth from Stoick's brow, transferred it to the basin in front of her, then back to his head. The cool water would only remain so for a few moments before it warmed to his temperature, but it was, at the very least, some way to help.
On three separate occasions after Astrid has left, Stoick had spoken. He had remained asleep for the first two, and for the third, he'd woken. When he'd first muttered in his sleep, it was about his earlier life, as a much younger and foolish chief. During those mutterings he'd spoken to his wife about the hardships he faced and how grateful he was to have her. The Elder had stroked his hand and murmured kind words, allowing him to sink back into peaceful sleep.
Only a few hours later, he was speaking to his wife again. This time of Hiccup. How he had such trouble relating to the boy. How the entire village must now think him a failure. And he wished fervently for her to come back. He begged, pleaded even, to be allowed to see her just one more time.
The Elder had applied the cloth then, sensing a fever, and she began to grind a few of the small rations of herbs she had managed to bring with her into a bowl. She filled the bowl with water and had Stoick drink it all down. He'd quieted then, but before he fell into stillness again (for he had not opened his eyes once, not even to drink) he managed to gasp the words, "Where is Hiccup?"
The third awakening was more violent than the other two combined. Stoick sat bolt upright, breathing heavily, eyes darting to either side. His wheezing pants became louder and more stressed as he searched around the small makeshift tent, but apparently he did not find what he was looking for. He dropped backwards onto the ground, all the while repeating under his breath, "Hiccup. My Fault. All m- my fault. Where is he?! Where is Hiccup?! Gone now. Just like her. Everyone leaves in the end."
While he panted and whispered to himself, the Elder decided that it was time to intervene. Stoick would only be able to stew for so long before things started going badly.
"Look 'ere you big oaf. I remember when you was not but a wee lad. And I know for a fact that Stoick the Vast alway puts his people first. Your wife understood that." She was tapping on his jaw with a wooden spoon, and his flickering eyes somehow managed to focus on her. "You and Hiccup may have had a scrap, but I have the strangest feeling in my bones about that boy. I get the feeling he'll be back. And you need to survive long enough to reconcile with him. And if you don't, I'll beat the stuffin out'ya. Got it?!"
Stoick missed most of the first message, he instead stared at the Elder's mouth. He'd never heard the Elder speak out loud before. Her voice was rather ordinary. What really caught his eye was the fact that while she was speaking, her mouth barely seemed to move at all.
He found himself now focusing on nothing but the return of his son. The Elder had said it was coming, so now what else could he do but hope? He would run to his son and give him the biggest hug he'd ever given anyone, and ask him how he was. With any luck, that would be enough. Because further planning was stymied when darkness once again swept his vision.
XXX
Astrid
It seemed that the Twins could really run when they wanted to. Astrid found herself lagging slightly as the frightened adolescents ahead of her continued their headlong dash, moving deeper into the forest. She found herself gaining knew scratches and bruises as branches, brambles and tree roots all did their best to cause her bodily harm. On branch managed to catch her on the underside of the jaw, and she felt precious blood begin to run down her neck. Turning her head to face behind her, she saw that the angry dragon horde had disappeared entirely from sight. With a swift pull, one of her knives was in her hand, and a quick movement sent it was flying on ahead of her.
The blade glinted dangerously in the sun as it passed between the Twins and embedded itself in a pine trunk ten feet ahead of them. Both Viking teenagers dug their heels into the ground and came sliding to a halt. They slowly turned to face Astrid, their labored breathing contrasting with Astrid's lighter breaths.
Now that everything was still, parts of the environment started to register with Astrid. The forest was filled with green light, and here and there a shaft of sun struck the ground, creating a small circle of gold. All in all, it was a peaceful scene, and Astrid found herself relaxing, despite her knowledge of the horde a mile or so behind them. No sounds made their way to her ears other than ragged breaths from her companions and the odd bird call, and she suspected that a massive fight had slowed the dragons, giving them a reprieve, for the moment.
The Terror sitting upon her right side gave a slight grunt, licking its eyeball while turning to her. The sound made Tuffnut look to her, and his eyes went wide with shock.
"Astrid, roll!" He yelled, drawing a blade and charging at her at almost full speed. As he went, he drew the sword from his belt and sent it stabbing out towards the Terror.
Don't be gentle.
A slight smile lifted the corner of Astrid's lip and her left hand automatically drew her knife, crossed her body, and knocked the sword away. She then lashed out with her right foot, her boot connecting solidly with Tuffnut's gut. As he doubled over, his sister jumped and tried to slash at the Terror. Astrid's fist caught her right below the ribs as she came down, and she fell to her knees, the knife dropping from her hand. In one final gesture, Astrid sheathed her blade and knocked the two's heads together with a resounding thunk. They collapsed backwards on the ground with identical groans.
I would have given them a few more bruises to think about.
Astrid's reply was whispered. "Well you're not me." She knelt down.
"Alright, listen up you meatheads, 'cause I'm only going to explain this once. This little Terror and I, we have an understanding. I helped him out, and he's helped me out. You don't kill him, I don't hurt you. Got it?"
The Twins were both gagging and dry heaving slightly. Perhaps the shots to their abdomens were a little more intense than intended. When Tuffnut finally had control of his voice again, he managed to gasp, "You sound... a lot... like Hiccup."
Two distinct muscles in Astrid's eye twitched. Her knuckles clenched together and popped loudly. She knelt down in front of the now fearful Tuffnut. The Terror on her shoulder hissed quietly.
"Don't you dare compare me to a murderer."
Astrid could feel the stony expression that her face had fallen into, and she knew just how frightening it could be. She made an effort to relax, taking in a deep breath, and letting it out slowly. On her shoulder, the Terror relaxed its aggressive posture and settled down, wrapping it's tail once again around Astrid's neck. As for Astrid herself, she stood and turned away from the two, letting them get slowly to their feet out of her line of sight.
"What are you two even doing out here, anyway?"
Ruffnut was the one that responded.
"Tuff was getting sick of the adults arguing and sulking. I think you must have beat some spirit into him, gods know how. But I wasn't about to let him run off and have fun taking names without me."
Astrid heaved a sigh. She had not wanted more than one scout outside the hall. This made things more complicated. If they split up, she was sure that the Twins would distract each other and blunder into another horde of dragons somewhere, but if they stayed together, she'd have to spend all her time keeping them off each other's throats.
Well this is just adorable. You've suppressed your violence, and now you're thinking like a mother.
"I swear, if you don't stop popping in, I will figure out SOMEway to make you suffer."
She froze, then turned and caught a glimpse of the bewildered faces on the Twins.
Before she could trouble herself with thinking of an excuse to explain herself with, her attention was taken by the loud bellow of a Gronkle in the distance.
"Shite. Both of you! On your feet! We have more ground to cover!"
And they were off once again, turning the trees around them into green blurs. The crashing and snappings behind them made it evident that the dragons were in hot pursuit. Unfortunately for them, one of the dragons had remembered that it could fly. With a heavy thud, a Monstrous Nightmare landed in front of them, hide fully ablaze. Around it, trees and shrubs immediately caught fire, and the three teenagers all yelled and veered as one, off to the right, towards the mountain. Behind them, the group of dragons barreled headlong into the Nightmare, and various angry snarls and shrieks rang through the air.
Those dragons bicker even more frequently than the Twins.
Astrid did not respond, as she knew that the Twins would ask awkward questions. But she thought with all of her might, "It is completely irrelevant how much anyone bickers, when we are running for our lives."
Look at you, starting to think your speech like a big girl. I'll say again, adorable. Now then, how about we just focus on getting our ass up that mountain over there.
After only a few moments, the trees fell away, and Astrid found herself speeding straight up the side of a large rockpile. Part of the cliffside had broken off and crumbled, falling in pieces down the slope, leaving a huge, climbable surface. The Twins were already bounding from rock to rock, scrambling upwards.
"This is no good, we're more exposed up there."
True, but at least if we're up there, we have the high ground.
Astrid's eyes widened. She felt new strength course through her legs and she went leaping from rock to rock with the agility of a mountain goat.
"Hey! Meatheads! Up to the top as quick as you can!"
The two glanced back at her, and Ruffnut yelled back, "What the hells did you think we were doing?!" Astrid did not waste breath explaining. Rather, she caught up to the two, and passed them, making for the highest available point in the rock slide. She spared a moment for a glance back down the slide. At the bottom, a few flashes of color were becoming visible through the foliage.
Astrid made a snap decision. This was as high as they could get. She skidded to a halt on top of a boulder and turned, drawing her sword as she went. She shoved the point downwards into the crevice between her boulder and the one below it, and heaved.
"I want to see as many rocks as possible bouncing straight down the beasts' throats!"
The Twins immediately dropped to their knees and began shoving to free a second rock. Astrid gave a grunt and sent her boulder tumbling down the slope. The Twins succeeded as well. Simultaneously, they all switched to new rocks. In less than a minute, at least ten boulders were rolling and bouncing downwards. The first dragon out of the treeline was a Nadder, and with a distressed squawk, it disappeared beneath Astrid's first rock.
As the rest of the horde broke through the trees, they all found that it was no longer a safe place for them to be. Rocks came clattering and smashing, crushing many dragons, and then rolling into the forest.
The teenagers managed to keep the onslaught going for five minutes, before the Twins collapsed against the scraggly roots of a tree that was doing it's best to grow through the rock field, hands bleeding. Astrid knelt next to them, observing the results of her idea. She found that almost all of the dragons had been caught off guard, and more than forty of them lay dead or crippled. The remaining five were three Terrors, a Nadder, and a Zippleback.
Astrid stood and went bounding down the rock field, knives drawn. Five distinct scarlett flashes splashed across the trees.
XXX
Toothless
The maze of passageways was no easier to navigate on this occasion than his first excursion. Ryshkaa was leading him through incredible numbers of turns and twists, and a few times, they'd even had to climb upwards or downwards.
A few Shades crossed their path from time to time, but every single one of them turned and averted their gaze when they identified Ryshkaa. Under normal circumstances, Toothless might have inquired into their lack of acknowledgement, but at the moment, he was giving more than half of his attention over to resisting the urge to seek out Hiccup's mind and envelop it. It was the strangest of feelings, being separated. It had not happened violently and unexpectedly this time, so he was still able to think clearly. His mind was still a cohesive whole, and yet, he found that he could not escape the undeniable sensation that something was... missing.
There was a warm and sunny side of his mind that just wasn't there now. Hiccup had been significantly involved in making him happy. Now he found that he could not sustain any form of good mood. He tried numerous times to separate from the problem, and instead concentrate on how he would solve the coming trials, but in every corner of his mind, he found a tiny, whispering tendril of thought that cried out for Hiccup.
For this, when Ryshkaa finally stopped, he was still extending and retracting his teeth in agitation and doing his best to keep his tail from whipping. The place where they'd stopped was a tiny opening in the side of a tunnel, just large enough for a Shade to squeeze through with wings at their sides. Toothless found that actual light was glowing within. He ceased his echovision, and stared at the orange flickering coming through the hole. Ryshkaa gestured with her nose towards the opening, then proceeded through.
For a moment, Toothless regarded the hole, and tried to decide whether or not she was really asking him to enter. Then an aggravated voice interrupted him.
"Get in here, icebrain."
With a slight snarl, and a single lash of his tail, Toothless squeezed his head through the opening.
On the other side, he found a large circular chamber. There were stalactites and stalagmites encompassing the room border, and in the center, a fire burned. All around the flames, in various sprawling and stretched positions, lay Ryshkaa, Kale, and Skuru. The warmer atmosphere impacted Toothless face, startling him and making him jerk back. In doing so, he spotted Sycle, hanging wrapped around one of the rock icicles hanging from the ceiling.
Skuru's high pitched voice rang inside Toothless head as he tried to get the rest of his body through the opening. He kept trying to extend his wings for balance, but they only snagged the stone walls and slowed him down.
"Look, the newcomer cometh! Where's your human? I rather wanted to play with it."
With a sharp report, Ryshkaa's tail flicked through the air and snapped Skuru across the nose from across the fire.
"Ow! What's your problem?!" Ryshkaa's reply was calm and commanding.
"Silence your wretched mind, Skuru. You're behaving like a hatchling."
"Well how else should I behave?" He flicked his split tongue.
"You're almost twenty cycles older than I am. And I'm only forty. I shouldn't be babying you."
"Well you're also about twice my size. Maybe nature just wants me to remain a hatchling."
That was when Sycle interjected.
"You're both behaving ridiculously. You're making a fool of my Wing before the newcomer." The words were laced with so much commanding authority that Toothless flinched and Ryshkaa and Skuru both curled into smaller, less relaxed positions.
Sycle then released his hold on the protrusion and dropped, landing silently alongside the fire. He stepped carefully past the two and blocked Toothless' path. "Alright. You're new here, so I'm going to tell you this once. This is my Wing. They are under my command and I am responsible for their actions. The place you're standing in is our den. We sleep here, as well as conduct business pertaining to ourselves. The Three want you to join our Wing for training, so here's how things will work.
"You will rise with us an hour before the dawning each morning, and perform our exercises and physical conditioning with us. You will eat meals with us after that, and follow us on patrol. Now, I don't let anyone serve me who's story I don't know. You will, at this time, share all memories. And don't worry, anything embarrassing I glean will not be anywhere near as bad as the things I've learned from others."
Before Toothless could even say a word, a very firm and powerful thought jumped passed his barriers completely and began to rifle through his memories. His first reaction was to resist and attempt to remove the probe, but after just a second he thought to himself.
Let him find out. I don't care what he, or anyone else for that matter, thinks.
It only took a few minutes for Sycle to cycle through his entire life. Toothless stood and did not break eye contact with the older Shade for the entire transfer. He took one step back and braced for the angry reaction. To his utter disbelief, Sycle snorted and turned away, placing a paw in the center of the flames. He stood there for a moment, before leaping back up towards the ceiling.
"A fascinating life you've had. Though I would recommend that you keep your human quiet until Alda has the time to integrate him. In the meantime, you should sleep while you can. You've travelled long without rest, and tomorrow, you will need every ounce of your strength."
For a moment, Toothless stood, staring incredulously at the dragons around him. Every single one of them had dropped into sleep, almost simultaneously. After a moment, he could think of nothing better to do, so he dropped to his belly, then rolled to face his underside toward the flames. He sighed in content as the heat drove any memory of the arctic chill from him. As he sank into sleep, he felt tendrils of alien thought, flicking and probing at his mind. For a moment, he threw up his defenses and repulsed the tendrils. As they repeated their advances toward his mind, he found himself sensing intentions that were merely curious, and not in anyway angry or malicious. Very cautiously, he dropped his defenses.
A flood of images overtook him. His own memories and thoughts, his emotions and instincts, everything that identified him as Toothless was washed away. Images, thoughts, emotions, and feelings from four distinct lives swirled around him. Here and there he could see his own mind amongst the turmoil. He suddenly remembered the times he'd spent with his father, hunting seals on the ice. The times he'd spent with his cousins, playing at the entrance to their ice cave. He remembered hundreds of things that had not happened to him, and he knew that he was no longer an individual.
The ache that had pulsed in the place where Hiccup's mind should rest was dulled. It remained, insistent and unforgettable, but it was slightly more bearable.
And with that final thought, Toothless allowed his mind to dissolve and scatter through the thoughts of five Shades. But before he subsided, he noticed one small clump of thoughts and memories that were dark, unreachable. When he tried, he could not see what they contained. One of the five was concealing something.
XXX
Hiccup
It took a long while, but eventually, Hiccup managed to get his tears under control. He had no idea how much time had passed, but when his eyes finally dried, he shrugged Alda's wing off and tried to stand. When his legs wobbled, he felt scales brush against his left side and he automatically leaned his weight, thinking that Toothless was beside him. The dusty feel of Alda's scales provided significantly less comfort.
"I may be a poor substitute for your mate, but what little comfort I can offer is yours. I wanted you here so that I could offer you instruction in the ways of Shades. I can teach you everything you need to know to integrate with the rest of us here, and you and Toothless will be able to interact peacefully with all those that accept you."
Hiccup was not looking at Alda, instead staring at his surroundings. The seemingly floating symbols that surrounded them... he recognised them. The symbols that Ryshkaa was able to draw, the symbol that had freed Toothless, and the symbol that had sent Skuru speeding into the distance with impossible velocity. They had both looked exactly like these. Hiccup crossed to the pillar base in the center of the room.
"Teach me about Shades if you must, but what I truly want to learn," He touched a single symbol with a single finger. "Is this." There was a burning sensation. Hiccup's eyes widened.
He was standing in the middle of an enormous ocean. Rather, he was not standing, but floating above the steel grey swirling waves. Across from him, a Shade he'd never seen before floated in a similar position. A low voice thundered through the air.
-The currents in this ocean are unique, in that they reverse once every ten cycles. This allows the-
The ocean and Shade vanished as Hiccup pulled his finger away from the wall. He gasped as pain ran through his hand. When he looked down, he saw flames leaping from the finger that had touched the symbol. After the initial pain, Hiccup found himself staring with interest at the fire. Slowly, the skin of his finger started to turn black, then crumbled away, revealing shining black scales beneath.
Alda crossed the small space beneath him and sniffed at his newly colored finger, turning to Hiccup.
"It seems as though teaching you about Runes, will be the foremost goal in my mind."
Hiccup drew a deep breath, then smiled.
"Let's get started."
