AN: Ok, I know it wasn't as soon as you hoped, but running all over LA and then running home and going to school the next day… yeah it was not very easy. But I'm just glad that it got done. The usual thanks go to LEPShot for his consultation, and of course the fact that he has my brand. Anyway, there are many shenanigans yet to be had, as we're starting to get into the fun stuff. Let us journey together into the Night. Onwards!

Chapter 29

Toothless

The following morning was a horrifying experience. Skuru awoke first, seeing as he had an uncanny instinct for the passage of time. He was accustomed to the Dream Pool, and he knew that acting on his own was a bad idea. As soon as he opened his eyes, the others were jarred awake, and began to rise out of sleep, some more quickly than others. Skuru smiled slightly while he watched the dreams of his Wing slowly start to fade.

He shook his head. A smile was not anything he had knowledge of. It was an entirely alien concept. Where else could it have come from except the newcomer? Skuru isolated the thought that had caused his jaw to twitch in such a strange fashion, and traced along it back to its source. As suspected, he found himself amongst a clump of Toothless' dreaming thoughts. One in particular jumped out and filled Skuru's mind. An image of the human that Toothless traveled with appeared, its face split and teeth bared, not in aggression, but in... happiness?

Skuru was delighted with his new discovery, and quickly tried to delve deeper to see what other interesting things he could find, but unfortunately for all the inhabitants of the small cave, Toothless awoke.

With a mighty howl and several thrashing movements of his tail, Toothless leapt to his feet and tried to drive what he perceived as alien minds away from his consciousness. All five Shades burst into motion, most confused by this violent upset of their thoughts, and for a full five minutes, the small space was filled with twisting, snarling, hissing, and angry Shades.

Luckily for everyone involved, Kale and Sycle managed to band several cohesive thoughts together. Both of them ceased their movement and reared back on their hind legs simultaneously, and letting loose two roars of such volume that every chaotic thought in the room was quieted, and every Shade relaxed into a sitting position. All except for Toothless.

Toothless stood with his ears flattened and his teeth out, eyes flicking between the other five residents of the cave. He flinched violently when Kale's slow, deep voice penetrated the sudden silence.

"Who poked the newcomer?" Every single eye in the cave fell towards Skuru.

"What?! I was just trying to..." His words cut off abruptly, and Toothless saw Ryshkaa staring at the small Shade with the anger that seemed to be her natural response to just about everything, except perhaps Hiccup.

After a few moments of silence, Skuru shook his head, and turned and extended a wing towards Toothless.

"My deepest apologies, Toothless, I acted without thought." Toothless had no idea what the little Shade was doing until Ryshkaa's voice echoed in his head.

"He's offering vulnerability to you as a sign of apologetic submission. Lick the leading edge to show you accept."

Toothless' snout wrinkled. It was one thing to know another dragon by smell and sight, but a sense of taste was something usually reserved for mates. In compromise, he stepped forward and ran his nose along the edge of Skuru's wing.

When the little dragon had bounced back into his place in the newly formed circle, Toothless finally asked, "Somebody want to explain what all four of you were doing in my mind?" All present turned to Sycle, but the older Shade just turned and stared at Ryshkaa.

"Explain to him on the way. I'm damn hungry." As one, the four dragons that stood across from Toothless turned away from him, toward the one tiny hole in the wall. Sycle led the way with a measured gate, neither hurried nor slow. Skuru bounced after him, and Toothless followed him after Ryshkaa pointed with a wing. Kale brought up the rear.

In the tunnels outside, there were far more Shades bustling around than there had been during the previous evening. Intersections were interesting affairs, as some Shade's stopped for others, while others seemed not to care who's path they stepped into. No one seemed to want to pass Sycle, though.

Toothless' eyes flicked wildly between each individual, and his frame tensed with the sudden onslaught of strange sensations. He'd only ever been in the company of two of his kind at the most, and those had been his mother and juvenile sister. Travelling with Sycle's Wing when they'd met had been too stressful to consider anything beyond the threats that each of the others had posed. Now, he found himself trying to memorize the form and figure of every stranger. Some had different manners of walking, while some smelled so alien that Toothless could barely register that they were dragons.

"Where are all of these Shade's from? They seem quite diverse." His private thought met a flat reply from Ryshkaa.

"The Three's etiquette orders forbid private conversations in public places. Wait until we eat, then we can talk." Toothless' eye ridges furrowed in consternation.

"What kind of ridiculo..." He was silenced by a swift mental jab. He had to suppress a yelp, but a snorted gust of air still escaped his nostrils, along with a small amount of smoke.

Eventually, after pushing past at least twenty other Shades, Toothless found the tunnel widening out into the massive hall that they had entered through. Turning his head back, Toothless saw The Three, sitting on their ledge, eyes closed, looking as though they had not moved an inch since yesterday. As soon as he looked at them, Toothless felt something enormous brush against his mind, and he cringed. Instinctively, he wanted to throw barriers around his mind and defend his past and present thoughts, but a small voice in the back of his conscious suggested that perhaps it was better to not draw attention. As they proceeded away from the ledge, he felt the attention directed at him lessen, then vanish, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

The enormous chamber still awed him just as much as it had when he first saw it. The downward slope was rough enough to provide good traction and holds. What Toothless found the most obvious difference in the chamber however, was the absence of the numerous Shades that had occupied the space before. Now, he saw not a single other dragon in the hall, save for a group of five walking in the opposite direction.

Toothless increased the speed of his sound waves, intent on gaining as complete a knowledge of the strangers as he could. But before he could even catch a glimpse, there was a strange shift. The minds of Sycle's Wing, which had until now been open and wide ranging, now contracted and formed into a single armored whole. The paces of Ryshkaa, Skuru and Kale changed. Toothless found that in a matter of three steps, they had shifted positions, placing all of them on his left, between himself and the approaching group. He also found his mind boxed in, as the single mind of the four contoured itself around his.

Thoroughly bewildered, Toothless tried to see the strangers. He found them all walking single file just as Sycle's Wing had been a moment before. All five of them were lean and muscled, with many jagged markings and scars running up and down their hides. As they approached, Toothless saw their teeth extend and their backs rise, wings unfolding slightly. His companions of Sycle's Wing did the same. They passed one another, and while the two leaders of the Wings ignored each other, the followers all let out low and drawn out hisses. The steam wafted past Toothless face, heavy with the scent of anger.

As the leader passed the center of their Wing, Toothless managed to catch a glimpse of his face between the shifting wing of Ryshkaa and Skuru. The very first thing he noticed, was the large piece that was missing from the stranger's ear. In that same moment, he felt a strange surge of terrible anger. He hated this face. He recognised it from a memory that was not his own, he knew each and every thickset line and crooked scale, and he hated it with a deep, burning passion.

Just as the groups passed, the other leader lifted a lip and snarled, with his eye pointed directly at Toothless.

Only a brief moment later, the two groups had passed one another and Ryshkaa, Skuru and Kale all returned to their previous positions. Their mind separated into four distinct pieces again and the group continued on as though nothing unusual had occurred. After two more minutes, they'd reached the passage that had led in from the icy entrance.

"Am I allowed to speak to you now?" Ryshkaa heaved a sigh.

"I suppose it should be fine. Just be sure to shut up if you feel the attention of The Three."

"Are you going to explain what was happening while I was asleep, or who those other Shade's were?"

Ryshkaa took a deep breath, but before she began, Sycle veered off to the side, away from the large passage that led to the entryway. Toothless could see a much smaller opening about four wing lengths to the right of the main tunnel.

"When a Wing sleeps, we allow our minds to overlap and fall together. Everything gets mixed up into one single pool of thought. A Dream Pool. Eventually, you will grow to know your Wingmates as you know yourself, some maybe even better. When we are all so familiar with one another that there is no thought in our actions as a group, then we are the best fighting force that we can be." They'd entered the smaller passage now and it curved downward and to the left very sharply.

"What if I don't want t..."

"We've already been over this. Your choice to stay was made. Now, you must learn." The passage moved off to the right again, and Toothless noticed a change in the air. It was becoming rapidly colder, and he could smell moisture. When the passageway broadened out into a small chamber, Toothless could see the reason. Half of the room's floor and walls were solid stone, albeit a little damp, while the other half was a sheet of flat, black, motionless water and walls of ice. It soaked up Toothless' sound waves like a sponge, only reflecting the smallest amount to allow Toothless to observe the surface.

"The five we passed on the way here in the meantime were Ito and his Wing, Myza, Zonni, Pyke, and Crawn."

"Why were we all so angry? I'd never even seen them before!" Ryshkaa sighed.

"That's a matter you'll have to take up with Sycle. But I recommend you don't try now, we're about to leave." And just as she spoke, Skuru and Kale dove into the water, each creating the smallest of splashes.

"Wait a moment, this is the exit?" Toothless inquired worriedly.

"It is indeed." Ryshkaa's voice was wry and annoyed. Toothless broadened his next words so that Sycle could hear.

"Can one enter the cave this way?" It was Sycle that answered.

"One cannot."

"Then how is it you expect me to get back in if I can't fly?"

They both stared at him. For a good five minutes, all was still. Then Ryshkaa spoke softly.

"Truly?"

"Without Hiccup, I might as well be a cripple. No, I am a cripple." He waved his false tailfin before their faces, locked in it's closed position.

This time, the silence stretched for more than fifteen minutes. Toothless assumed that Skuru and Kale were privy to the entire conversation. He decided to wait for whatever it was Sycle was going to say.

After Toothless had endured the two's stares for as long as he could stand, he snorted and stamped one paw against the ground. Ryshkaa blinked, while Sycle remained motionless. After one more moment, the older Shade turned away, and spoke with his usual gravelled authority.

"You will remain here today. We'll bring you breakfast. We can't have one as inexperienced as yourself running or swimming around in the open." Without another word, both he and Ryshkaa dived almost soundlessly into the water.

Toothless muttered and grumbled angrily. Perhaps at least now he could spend some time really familiarizing himself with that main chamber. The warm stone seemed especially inviting after feeling the frigidity wafting off the water's surface. With a hop and a few steps, he was on his way back up the inclined passage toward the main hall.

XXX

Shades are a unique race. While they can be classified as dragons, they behave in significantly different fashions from others of their genus. For example, Shade's are the only species of dragon known to deny their cold blooded nature and make their homes in the frozen north. It is said that a Shade's flame burns hotly and brightly throughout life in a special organ, somewhere in the center of their chest cavity. Supposedly, it is this flame that keeps a Shade warm, even in the near freezing sea, from which they fish much of their livelihood.

Shades are also excellent swimmers. They use their paws and all three pairs of wings to direct their underwater course, making them extremely maneuverable and quick beneath the waves.

The 'inner fire' is important for two purposes beyond warming a Shade's body. First, it provides a second line of defense against all attacks from any creature. Because the flames are so hot and concentrated, they can be formed into explosive masses and shot at high speed towards attackers. Secondly, it is through the energy of this 'fire' that Shades are able to call upon the 'Heart's Fire' which is a power I have not observed in any other dragon species. In these days it is not used in the common life of a typical Shade, as there are very few who remember it.

At the moment, there are only three, myself being one. It is my hope that one day we can one day work together to instruct a younger generation, but for now, I must focus my priorities on the other inhabitants of Home Cave. It is my hope that we can eventually bring about the wonder that Alda envisioned for us.

Heartbeat of the Arctic

Ryshkaa

XXX

Toothless

The view from the hanging ceiling spire was strange. Being so far away from the ground and walls resulted in extremely faint reflections from his echos. He could just barely glimpse the far end, where The Three's alcove stood.

"You're laying low right?" Toothless jerked and nearly lost his grip as the voice of Skuru buzzed in his head.

"I don't think The Three have noticed me if that's what you're asking."

"Oh, good! They would tear your mind apart if they caught wind of your strange human fetish."

Once again, Toothless nearly lost his grip on the stone. Before his objections had time to burst forth from his mind, Skuru was speaking again.

"Oh, I know it's not something to do with humans, it's just Hiccup. He's really, really special for some reason. I'm kinda jealous actually. I think I caught a few glimpses of just how tightly your minds are wound around one another. Quite frankly, I wish I could find a mate like that. A life partner. We'd never hide anything." The little Shade's thoughts started to decrease in volume as they took on the airy tone of the thoughts one thinks to oneself.

It only took a moment for Toothless to start breathing again. His mind raced as the implications of Skuru's statement washed over him. His mind had been shared with all four of Sycle's Wing, and it seemed that he no longer had any secrets he needed to hide from them. While this simplified things, Toothless found tremors of discomfort running through his frame.

For most of his life, he had lived with his mind constantly open, forcibly exposed to the baleful presence of The Queen. The fact that his thoughts had been freely accessible to these four brought pangs of anger that he had not felt since his enslavement.

"See now, you have it a little crooked. If we just opened our minds to each other all the time, then we would start to overlap, and eventually, none of us would have a personality anymore. That is why the Dream Pool takes place, as the name suggests, during dreams. It is our unconscious minds that interact with each other while we sleep. In this way, we learn about each other on an intimate level, but mostly we don't even realize it."

Toothless caught a brief flash of four Shades bursting from a hole in the surface of the frozen sea. The largest carried two enormous fish of a breed Toothless had never seen before beneath him.

"For example, did you see how your mental barriers did not prevent you from hearing me? On some level, you're heavily familiar with my voice. So familiar that you don't consider me a threat, and let my voice in without even thinking. And in the same way, I know that woe shall come to the fool that places himself between you and your strange mate. I feel that it is so, and yet, I don't have any explicit memories from your mind, see? Here, it's easier if you try it. Concentrate on everything you know about one of us, say... Sycle! Some things that you know might surprise you."

This was one of the strangest concepts Toothless had ever been confronted with. He found himself leaping on the idea of Sycle. From his encounters with the older Shade, Toothless knew that Sycle was a fierce fighter, and he was accustomed to a position of command, but beyond that, his experience taught him little.

Very suddenly, Toothless found himself assailed by thoughts and ideas that he knew he had not had yesterday.

Sycle is a hard leader, but fair in all his judgments. Sycle only considers what's best for his Wing. Sycle has the most experience inside Home Cave, excluding The Three and Alda. Sycle hates Ito with all his heart, and that hatred is reciprocated.

With a shake of his head, he cleared away the foreign thoughts. It was exactly like Skuru described. Toothless had opinions and thoughts concerning the elder dragon, but he had no memories, or any other reason for thinking the things he did. That last thought had been very clear and it resounded through his mind with the voices of all four of his new companions. Whatever was the cause of Sycle's hatred, it was serious, and probably justified.

At that exact moment, the four dragons in question came pacing through the ice encrusted archway into the hall. Kale walked with his head at an awkward angle, holding two large fish, each about twice the length of his head, high off the ground.

"You took your time."

Kale grumbled in his low resonating voice. "I'd like to see you on your first fishing trip soft-claw. It ought to knock some civility into your tongue. These are not the soft and dumb fish of the south. These are Kahda."

Now that Toothless really looked at the fish, he saw that they were indeed very strange, and altogether different from anything he'd seen before. The scales were dull and grey, and the tail seemed like that of a normal fish, but the head had some drastically different traits. The jaw of the fish was powerful and muscled, and a large number of needle like teeth protruded from the lower jaw. Above the mouth, five long tendrils of fleshy black material extended over the fish's back and sides.

Kale spat the two corpses onto the cave floor.

"What are those... things on it's face?"

Ryshkaa responded as she laid down on one of the stone ledges.

"They're sensory organs. They trail in the water over the fish's back and on each of it's four quarter sides. They are ridiculously sensitive to shifts in the water around them, and are thus extremely difficult to catch. Now choose one and eat."

Toothless now realized that the caribou he'd shared with Hiccup had been a long time ago. He tore into the fish with a vigour born of hunger.

"What about the other fish? Who's that for?"

Sycle's graveled voice was short and definitive.

"Alda."

Toothless did his best to repress it, but his ears pricked, his eyes widened slightly, and his nostrils flared. Hiccup was with Alda. Sycle moved rapidly, and Toothless found a claw against the side of his neck.

"Listen hear soft claw. Alda told me exactly how dependent you are on that human. He charged me to help with your separation. If you remain dependent on each other, you'll both be at a disadvantage. Both of you will remain separate. For a week at the very least. Understood?"

Before Toothless could stop himself, his lip curled into a snarl. Sycle gave no warning.

First the elder male's leg curled and shoved into Toothless' gut. With a gasp, the younger male fell to the side. He tried to catch himself, but Sycle's tail swept up under him and threw him onto his side. When he glanced down, he found his wing between the jaws of the elder.

"You're a little slow on the uptake. You will obey, or I will destroy you. My Wing is my family. If you are to be part of my family, you will attempt to earn my respect. Are we clear?"

Toothless was frozen. He could feel the humid air rushing over his wing and knew that if Sycle bit down, he'd never fly again. Hiccup would not be able to piece together a new wing.

"I apologise. I'm not yet accustomed to the company of so many." Sycle stepped away.

XXX

Skuru

Skuru slid into the Hall of Knowledge with the Kahda dangling from his mouth. He immediately spotted Alda lying curled on the floor. In the middle of the room, he saw the human standing with his hand pressed against the wall. The symbol beneath his hand was glowing violently, flickering occasionally, and a few sparks fell from either side. Hiccup himself was standing with his feet spaced evenly and his other hand gripping the back of his neck. His back was rigid and he barely breathed.

Skuru tore his eyes away from the human, and stepped up to Alda. He extended his left leg and dropped his head. The fish flopped onto the floor as he did.

"For the last time Skuru, you need not bow to me."

"I respect you. I like to show it." Alda gave a soft chuckle. Skuru turned and watched the human. He had not moved, but now that Skuru looked closely at him, he saw that the hand that was touching the wall was blackened and smoking. "I thought that Shades were the only ones who could use the Heart's Fire?"

"Until I met this human, so did I."

"What will happen to Toothless in the coming week? He can't fly without his human."

Alda jerked. "Damn it all! I completely overlooked that. Bring Toothless here when training ends, and I'll think of something. Make sure Sycle comes with him. He needs to remain separate."

Skuru jumped to his feet and brushed his snout along the edge of Alda's folded wing, then hurried away, leaving the human standing, facing the wall, spine rigid and completely motionless.

XXX

Toothless

Ryshkaa's tail felt like stone when it impacted Toothless' face. Before he could reorient, two jabs to the gut left him gasping on the cave floor.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm feeling less as though I'm being taught, and more as though I'm the subject of everyones malevolence." Sycle was hanging from the one of the ceiling spires and observing everything.

"You're not reacting fast enough soft claw." He snorted. "We'll have to get some muscle on your frame before you can match anyone of us. Run between the two walls of this chamber, and don't stop until I tell you."

Toothless stood, and stretched his body as far as it would, then took off for the opposite wall. At almost the exact same time, Skuru came sliding into the cavern.

"Sycle! Alda wants to see you and the newcomer after training. You'll be there to maintain separation."

"Thank you Skuru."

Whilst Toothless ran, the other Shades of the Wing turned to their own tasks. Ryshkaa proceeded to a cave wall and leapt up to hang from a spire. She then turned and began to scratch a claw against the wall, all the while lowering herself slightly, and pulling herself back up, hanging only from her tail.

Kale shoved his head into a large oblong stone about thrice the size of a Shade's head. After a few moments, it shifted and he began to roll it across the cavern. Sycle dropped from the ceiling and threw a few swipes at Skuru. The smaller Shade leapt backwards and ducked, then shot forwards to throw some swipes back.

After about an hour, Toothless started to feel his muscles burn. Just as he was starting to slow, Sycle spoke a single word.

"Next"

Immediately, Ryshkaa leapt down from the ceiling and and made an attacking motion toward Sycle. Skuru started running towards the far end of the wall, and Kale leapt up to the ceiling and started to lift and lower himself by his tail.

Toothless sighed, and stumbled over to the rock, and started trying to shift it.

By the time his turn to spar with Sycle came, he was panting and shaking. He did not even manage to twitch when Sycle's paw flew out and caught him under the jaw. There were a few more strikes, but Toothless was so dizzy he was not sure where they fell. He crashed to the ground.

"Dear me. We have more work to do than I thought."

XXX

Toothless maintained a slow, slightly stumbling gait as he followed Sycle through the tunnels.

"And Alda wants to see me...why?"

"I have absolutely no idea. I would guess that he wishes to resolve the issue of your flight."

The remainder of the journey passed in silence, but Toothless still took time to notice and observe every single Shade that crossed their path.

Just as they entered the passage that contained the Hall of Knowledge, Toothless felt the immense presence of The Three brush against him. He froze. Small tendrils of thought started to pluck at his mind.

"Sycle, they're..."

"Shhh!" Sycle accompanied the thought with a hiss.

A voice that Toothless recognised as Alda's thundered through his head. "You are interfering with my examination! Leave! Now!" Before Toothless could say anything, the massive presence faded and shifted away. Alda appeared at the entrance to the Hall.

"So sorry about that. Please, come in."

When Toothless entered the hall, the first thing he noticed was the smell of burning flesh. His gaze zeroed immediately on Hiccup. The boy was using a blackened finger on his right hand to trace a shape onto his left forearm. Where the black and flesh met, there was a violently blue glow. Small wisps of smoke rose from the spot. When he pulled his hand away, he turned toward Toothless and smiled. His forearm still glowed slightly.

Toothless felt the empty space in his mind flare, and the ache that it left intensified. With a small whimper, he found his eyes widening and Hiccup bit his lip.

"As we discussed, Hiccup. I'll be right here to assist if some of them slip your mind."

Hiccup sprang into action and vaulted over Toothless' back. Before Toothless could so much as move, he felt his tale pinned to the floor, and heat exploded near its tip.

Before he could stop himself, Toothless instinctively reached out for Hiccup, but his thought ran into a solid wall of cold, empty, sorrow. Sycle's mind had enveloped him. With a soft crying sound, he hung his head and withdrew into himself, desperately trying to forget that Hiccup was right behind him.

After a few minutes filled with clicking noises and a few tightenings in the straps of his false tailfin, Hiccup leapt back into view, grinning.

Slowly, Toothless pulled his tail fin around and stared at it. The moving mechanics had been changed. There was now a small rotational piece in the joint, attached to a rod that ran through the skin of his actual fin. He opened the fin experimentally. The motion was transferred through the rotational piece, and the false tailfin opened to the same degree.

Toothless gasped. Hiccup had given him the ability to fly by himself.

"It won't be a match for a natural fin, but you'll at least be able to get airborne." After Alda's words, Hiccup darted forward and nipped the base of Toothless' left ear. Lightning jumped through the young Shade as he heard a slight verbal whisper, barely loud enough to be heard.

"Use it well."

XXX

Astrid

With an extremely loud splintering, the tree crashed to the ground. Astrid nodded to the other two, then waved them over. The twins ran up the tree, climbed down through the tangled canopy, and crawled through the opening to their newly disguised shelter.

"We wait for a few days for the dragons to calm down, then we scout, and we figure out exactly what we're dealing with." The Twins nodded in unison. "Excellent. Now get some sleep."