Hey Everyone

I'm finally back from my Hols!

Still really drained but I've managed to pull this little chapter out for you guys.

Thanks so much for all of your support so far. It's really amazing stuff.

Don't have much to say right now except….

….Enjoy!

The Return of the Nightfuries

Chapter 35

Bad Moon Rising PT - 4

(The school of Dragons – part XVIII)

Last time Toothless sparked a massive fight with his fellow Nightfuries

Which was only stopped by Hiccup begging Deathwing

to leave the Isle of night for a short time.

Agreeing, Deathwing granted him two-days to visit a nearby Island.

What will happen on this little adventure?

Read on and find out!

(Night, somewhere in the skies over the archipelago)

Flying.

Truly there was nothing like it. Every time Hiccup felt that exhilarating jolt when Toothless took off into the air, the boy rejoiced in the casting off of the bonds that kept him cruelly shackled to the earth and all the pain it heaped on him.

This time however, was different.

This time, it felt like that those shackles had grown into an infinitely, long chain that was wrapped oppressively around his neck like a leash.

This time Hiccup felt no joy but only warring confusion as he and Toothless flew through 'The Veil' and that was due in no small part to the strange company they were currently keeping.

Firstly there was Moonchaser, flying wingtip-to-wingtip with Toothless on his right, who seemed to never stop staring at Hiccup as they flew. It was hard to gauge what the dragoness thought of him as he stole looks at her only to be met by a pair of pure white eyes. When Moonchaser and Toothless returned to the cave back on the Isle of Night, both somehow miraculously healed of all of their wounds, she had kept her distance and not spoken a word. Moonchaser just ….. stared at him, her eyes wide, as if he was a puzzle to be solved or possibly a threat to be removed. He didn't know what words had passed between his best friend and his 'mate' but Hiccup resolved to ask Toothless at some point. He hoped they had been good for he had enough enemies right now.

Then there was Dathomir, who flew on their left had side and seemed to be doing everything in his power to infuriate Toothless. The oversized, cursed hybrid had started by presenting Hiccup with a large pouch of golden coins from his treasure hoard before they left. The gesture declared in no uncertain terms that if Hiccup and Dathomir were indeed banished together, the once-human-now-dragon could ensure Hiccup lived like a king, comfortable and wealthy. It was clear to Hiccup by Toothless' reaction, his best friend had not thought of that and was not happy at all. It was then compacted by the fact that after take-off Dathomir smugly refused to give up his prominent flight position to Nightbreaker or Twilight who were now flying ahead of them in a vanguard action.

While Nightbreaker kept his gaze resolutely forward, Hiccup shared uneasy glances whenever Twilight looked back him. Her piercing silver eyes tried to comfort and reassure the boy who felt like he was being escorted more like a condemned prisoner than an essential rider.

Hiccup was glad he could keep his focus ahead of him for he did not want to look back at the group that was shadowing him from below. As if representing the faction of Nightfuries that wanted him dead, Hiccup literally trembled as he identified the small cadre of dragons that included Midnight, Shade, Faststreak, Zodiac and a recently recovered Raven along with two dragons that Toothless named Skydive and Raiden. All kept their eyes locked on him the way a pack of wolves would gaze upon a weak and wounded stag, ready to finally pounce for the kill. And flying steadily in the centre of the flapping black mass, staring at him with the burning purple eyes of unfettered hatred, was Blacklight himself. Even from his secure position on Toothless' saddle, Hiccup knew that if the malicious Nightfury thought he could get away with it, he would indeed snatch the boy up and feast on his flesh before he even hit the sea that roiled far beneath them.

Why they were following Hiccup didn't know but he was grateful to all the gods, both human and dragon, that they had been forbidden from following him beyond 'The Veil' with only Zodiac coming because the King of the Nightfuries had ordered her to. Hiccup was truly afraid now and that feeling was not soothed by the presence of both Deathwing himself and Darkwing as they flew about fifty feet above them, shielding him and Toothless from the many lightening strikes that flashed intermittently around them.

As they flew Hiccup could only feel wretched as he realised his mere presence had split Toothless' family down the middle with half of them supporting him and half opposing with Deathwing sitting in judgement overall. Added to this were the obvious agendas of both Dathomir and Moonchaser. Though both hadn't made a negative move against him yet, Hiccup couldn't help but feel the Nightfuries flying either side wanted to tear him and his best friend apart, Moonchaser to replace him as Toothless' main focus and companion while it seemed Dathomir sought to be Hiccup's new steed who would explore the world with him in their almost-assured exile. The Viking boy warred with himself at how the Nightfuries were coming for their own selfish reasons, but somehow he could not doubt their logic or deny their desires. He was after-all the interloper here. He had no say or rights amongst the dragons. He was still a useless human it seemed.

And it was due to these declining spirits Hiccup hoped with all his heart that this brief time away might ease the tensions amongst the dragons and in himself. However his hope began to sink as a new ethereal sight began to manifest in front of the flock of Nightfuries and the temperature seemed to drop drastically, making the Viking boy shiver.

"B – b - bud? Are those … what I think they are?!" Hiccup stuttered fearfully as out of the billowing storm clouds, ghostly shapes began to appear. Quickly the apparitions took the form of Viking warriors, men ….. women … even children … all wailing and screaming either unearthly cries of pain or bone chilling battle cries. From everywhere, bathed in a sickly green hue the ghouls came, swirling around Hiccup, their gaunt, rotting faces scowling, their bony clawed hands reaching out for him. It was as if they were going to drag him out of the sky and into the pits of Helheim.

"Fleeeeeeee!" a warrior wraith rasped as he lanced straight through Hiccup with his sword, causing the boy to scream in terror.

"Mama?! Papa?! Where are you?! Aieeeeee!" the spectre of little girl squealed as she was rent to pieces by another sprite.

"The gates of death are opening for you!" cackled the gravelly voice of an elderly beaten man who swung ghostly chains that were attached to all of his limbs which clanked and snapped in the wind.

Hiccup gasped and desperately shook his arms to ward off the apparitions that swarmed around him, but as he did so they would simply vanished only to reappear and terrorize him once more. As each wraith phased through him again and again, Hiccup audibly shivered as his skin rippled with goose-bumps and he felt waves of cold terror run up and down his spine.

"Do not fear Hiccup!" Toothless crooned trying to calm his young ward as he lurched and jerked erratically in the saddle "Tis yet another effect of 'The Veil' triggered by your presence!"

"What?!" was all Hiccup could muster as he ducked the flying shape of an elderly female warrior swinging her war-hammer at his head.

"If storms are not enough to deter humans from coming too close to our home, 'The Veil' will conjure the illusions of lost and damned souls!" Dathomir interrupted, his tone far too cheery for the macabre display that was swarming around them, "Most Vikings are a superstitious, cowardly lot so giving them a taste of damnation is usually enough to scare them away for good!"

"Oh! Well their doing a pretty good job with me!" Hiccup retorted wearily, not even able to summon the energy to convey how truly awed he was by 'The Veil's' power.

"Bear with it a few moments longer and we will be clear of it!" Toothless reassured.

"Okay bud, Whatever you say!" Hiccup shakily replied.

True enough, after a few urgent grunts from Toothless to urge his flight-mates faster, the small flock of Nightfuries quickly passed through the other side of 'The Veil' and burst out into clear, moonlit skies, much to Hiccup's relief. Looking back over his shoulder, Hiccup allowed himself to breathe slightly easier as he saw that Blacklight's flock, Deathwing, Darkwing and a few other Nightfuries that had come to watch, had all stopped following them and were simply hovering at the 'The Veils' edge, watching them intently.

"Bring my son back to me human ….. or you will never be done running from me!" Deathwing's deep and powerful voice reached out to resonate in Hiccup's mind. The Viking boy simply nodded and thankfully turned his gaze back to face forward as the King of the Nightfuries turned and led his kindred back to the Isle of Night. Though Hiccup let out a huge sigh of relief, it still did not erase the feeling of a chain around his neck that would inexorably drag him back to Deathwing's court, no matter how far he and Toothless flew.

(Later that night, in the sky)

The flight to the Isle of Munn was, as Dathomir predicted not very long. After about an hour of flying a decent sized landmass appeared on the horizon, its coastline illuminated against the black sea by the countless pinpricks of fire light, a seeming safe-haven from the darkness of night that threatened to engulf everything.

So far the journey had been mostly silent with Hiccup fearing to breach any conversation. It seemed every question he wanted to ask was simply kindling that would spark a fresh argument or conflict amongst his Nightfury companions. He tried to map out the various and myriad relationships that seemed to connect them all and got lost quite quickly as a fly would in a spider's web. Zodiac had muttered a few old tongue words that Hiccup didn't understand and nobody wanted to translate so he figured they were curses aimed at him and therefore he was quite happy to remain ignorant of their meaning.

As the flight continued and the Isle of Munn grew larger in his vision, Hiccup tried to calm his nerves, focusing solely on the soothing rhythmic movements of his best friend beneath him. Over time Hiccup had learned to read Toothless' body-language like a book; the tensing and relaxing of his muscles, the shifting of his balance in the air, even the varying rhythms of his dragon's breathing were all markers that helped Hiccup in his mastery of flight and using the tailfin prosthetic.

'The tail-fin!'

Hiccup had not thought about that in a while now. It was the symbol of his connection to Toothless, the one thing that had brought them together and now bound them to each other in this symbiotic relationship. It gave Hiccup a small measure of comfort as he remembered Toothless' reassurances that the dragon would always need him. Yet this was always followed by Midnight's taunting that Toothless could easily have his grievous wound healed, thus removing Hiccup from the equation altogether. It re-ignited Hiccup's guilt and curiosity all at once.

'By maiming his friend Hiccup made the dragon his slave, but if that was true, why didn't Toothless just free himself?!'

It didn't make any sense and Hiccup gripped his saddle even tighter as he wracked his brains to try and figure things out. He was drawn from his musings as the bright light of the moon that illuminated his pale hands became obscured by something. Lifting his head for the first time in what felt like hours making his neck crack, Hiccup looked up to see, silhouetted against the ever-waxing moon was another Nightfury, literally shadowing them from above.

"Uh Toothless? Who is that?!" Hiccup asked, his voice coming across quite loud after the long period of nothing but the sounds of the wind and sea filling the void.

Immediately all of the dragons startled at Hiccup's words and looked up at the Nightfury that was making no attempt to hide its presence.

"I will investigate!" Twilight chirped urgently from her forward position before Toothless could respond. Breaking formation, the dragoness pumped her wings and she darted upward, arrowing toward the unknown Nightfury. Hiccup watched in trepidation as Twilight approached the newcomer and he saw the two Nightfuries appear and disappear as they flew around each other, darting in and out of the moon's pale disc. Obviously some sort of conversation was taking place judging by the distant grunts and barks he could barely make out while the ear plates of all the dragons around him twitched and tilted in that direction.

Quite quickly Hiccup noticed the Nightfuries visibly relax and he felt the tension in Toothless' body recede. He hoped that was a good sign.

"Well? Who is it bud?" Hiccup asked.

"It's Omen!" Moonchaser replied drawing both Toothless' and Hiccup's attention, "He is a seer dragon Hiccup!" the white-eyed dragoness continued in a warm tone "he means us no harm, he is simply here to observe, you will meet him when we land!"

Hiccup was stunned as his jaw hung loose. Moonchaser had not said a word to him before now and it seemed she would not even grace him with a sound beyond a draconic growl. But now Hiccup was amazed that the first things she had spoken to him were words of clarity, reassurance and addressing him by his name. There was not a hint of mockery or condescension in her tone. It gave the boy a sliver of hope. But it was only a sliver as the female just returned her gaze forward for the moment apparently unconcerned of this new dragon's arrival or the boy's reaction. Hiccup looked back down and shared a glance with Toothless who smiled warmly as well, seemingly happy at the first interaction between his friend and his mate.

"You will like Omen Hiccup!" Toothless warbled, "He is full of knowledge and has an interesting gift I think you will find very useful!"

"Indeed he does!" Twilight chirped over the wind as she re-joined her place beside Nightbreaker "father sent him to be of service to our mission!"

"Well …. That's … uh …. great? ….. Is it bud?" Hiccup tried to whisper his last words to Toothless hoping he could confirm both Twilight's and Moonchaser's assertions, suspicious that Deathwing had been the one to send this Omen. Toothless nodded heartily and Hiccup finally smiled, hoping he would meet another friendly dragon.

By now Hiccup and his escort were overflying the Isle of Munn. Hiccup and Toothless hadn't stopped here on their journey to the Isle of Night due to the Nightfury's home being so close. Hiccup took a few minutes to take in the island below them as they circled around. Munn wasn't the biggest Island Hiccup had ever seen. It was comparative to Berk in size, yet rather than being tall and mountainous with high cliffs, the landmass beneath them was mostly flat with a few hills, large swathes of forest and had a vaguely triangular shape. Hiccup was also intrigued that instead of only having one main settlement as Berk did, it looked that Munn had three decent sized villages, one in each corner of the triangle.

"Should be easy enough to get in and out unnoticed bud" Hiccup mused aloud, "if anyone asks me where I'm from, I'll just say I'm from one of the other villages. By the time they try and check we'll be long gone!"

"A good plan!" Toothless warbled "Just don't linger too long! We don't know what they are capable of!" he followed up with obvious concern in his tone.

"Don't worry bud, if there's one thing I know, it's Vikings" Hiccup drawled sarcastically to put his best friend at ease, "Now let's see where we can set down, how about that forest near the southern village? It looks dense enough, we might even find a cave in those hills!"

"Excellent choice Hiccup, Twilight! Nightbreaker! Lead us down!" Toothless barked out firmly. However rather than change direction, both of Toothless' siblings flared out their wings forcing the entire to come to abrupt halt and flap hard to maintain their balance as they hovered in mid-air. Slowly Nightbreaker and Twilight turned to face Toothless. The Nightfury prince was perturbed by the irritated look from Nightbreaker's red eyed, armoured face while Twilight simply stared wide-eyed and hurt at him.

At first Toothless was confused, but then it struck him.

In that moment Toothless realised he had yet to apologize to his siblings for his previous behaviour and that his ignorance was unbecoming of a first-born, especially seeing the still hurt expression in his sister's eyes. So with a bowed head and a deeply sincere tone, Toothless closed his eyes and crooned lowly "My brother, my sister, I humbly beg you to be my eyes. I am blind and need guidance, please show me and my rider the way." It was a small simple gesture, yet the humility in Toothless' tone seemed to make it sound as if he was nothing more than weak hatchling when the reality was he and Hiccup had made countless landings like this on even darker nights. Yet it was small, simple step in the right direction, for both Twilight and Nightbreaker nodded in response and gracefully angled themselves downward, leading the cadre of dragons to a clearing than had obviously been made by loggers. Once landing, Hiccup held on tight as Toothless and the others swiftly ran from the exposed area to find shelter in the cover of the forest itself.

After a half an hour of searching both boy and dragons quickly realised there were no caves to be found and so would have to settle for nesting on the ground in the forest. It was not an ideal situation but eventually they found a secluded enough area where the trees were packed tightly enough to shield them from prying eyes but wide enough for them to move freely. It didn't take long for Hiccup to set up a small camp for himself using what few supplies he had left and a couple of fire-stones he had brought from his cave.

At first all seemed calm and serene. But after a while a tense silence descended on the camp with Hiccup noticing the dragons, Toothless included, were beginning to get twitchy and restless. All of the Nightfuries seemed to be either snapping looks around into the surrounding forest or gazing intently at Hiccup with various expressions to the point it was getting hard to remain calm or focused on the journal he was trying to write in. The Nightfuries collective suspicions at being in a new place seemed to make the sound of rustling trees more grating, the fox's bark more harrowing, the distant snapping of twigs more ….

"You should go hunting!"

The small assembly of Nightfuries looked puzzled as Hiccup nervously launched to his feet, blurting out his declaration.

"You know …. cause we were flying for so long … and you normally hunt in the dark …. And I'm sure there's more fun things you can do besides hang around here ….. I mean only one of you would be enough to watch me …. Right?"

The sound of crickets clicking and the odd hoot of an owl were all that could be heard in the silence that followed as both boy and dragons shifted uneasily on their feet as they considered Hiccup's idea.

Eventually it was Omen who broke the tension as he stepped into light of the fire-stone, revealing than his eyes were completely black with no whites whatsoever giving the Nightfury a decidedly sinister appearance. "An excellent idea human! The night is still young and some fresh meet would be nice!" the dragon crooned licking his lips seemingly sparking a general rumbling of agreement amongst his fellows.

"This Island is new to us!" Twilight cooed with concern as she warily flicked her gaze in several directions "What if we were to run into some humans, one Nightfury alone can be stealthy enough to go unnoticed, but 6 of us all hunting on the ground at once? That may draw unwanted attention!"

The Nightfuries all nodded at Twilight's observation but Omen dipped his head and began chanting quietly. After a moment passed a small blue light flickered into existence and hung just in front of the dragon's face, casting his black pools of eyes into an eerie blue tint. The light increased in strength until it seemed to solidify and it appeared that a blue crystal was floating before the Nightfury. With a steady, powerful tone Omen incanted, "Father and Mother Spirit! Give me sight beyond sight!"

A faint lyrical tune began to emanate from the crystal and Omen's focus on it increased as the light that flickered within it pulsed erratically. Hiccup was entranced by the power this dragon was exhibiting and found himself drawn to the black reptile, his hand reaching out involuntarily toward the humming crystal. However before he could touch it, the crystal vanished and all was cast back into the red tinted hues of the fire-stones.

"What was that?" Hiccup asked breathlessly.

"My gift, my sight-beyond-sight, allows me to see over vast distances Hiccup, far greater than any other dragon, I can observe what happens on islands many miles from here!" Omen replied, his voice calm.

"Wow!" Hiccup breathed out in awe before his brows furrowed and he stepped closer to Omen, "But …. then ….. Why didn't you try to use your gift to find Toothless if he was gone for so long?"

A deathly silence now hung over the camp and Hiccup couldn't fail to notice the nervous looks in the faces of the Nightfuries around him. Toothless now came alongside Hiccup to demonstrate his own desire to know the answer to the boy's question. At first it seemed Omen wouldn't answer before swallowing and speaking quietly.

"I. Did. Try. Every day in fact!" Omen ground out his tone a mixture of frustration and shame, "Lord Deathwing would beg me at all hours of the day and night to search for you Shadow! At first it was easy to follow you … but then one day … you …. you simply vanished! ….. my ability to find you blocked for some reason. No matter how hard I tried, all I could muster was fleeting glimpses. Even with your father's magic augmenting my own, all I could snatch was broken visions, half-grasped ideas! I failed my king! I am curious first-born, how was it that I could not see you?"

Hiccup and Toothless shared a look and both instantly knew what or more importantly who the reason was for the blocking of Omen's sight, yet Hiccup could feel Toothless didn't want to discuss it. Omen was looking at them intently, obviously expecting an answer but when neither dragon or boy spoke, help once again arrived from an unexpected quarter.

"It hardly matters Omen!" Moonchaser spoke as she stepped between them forcing them all away from each other, "Shadow is with us again now. You served your king well and you should not berate yourself, even the magic of Nightfuries has its limits! What is important is what you saw just now!"

Hiccup felt himself release a breath he was holding and thanked Moonchaser with a small nod as Omen seemed to be drawn back to the subject at hand as a small smile crossed his face.

"Travel northward for a about a mile" the black-eyed dragon intoned "there are no humans around so some of you can even fly if you wish. In the higher foothills you will find something very interesting!"

"Is that all?!" Dathomir snorted indignantly "No wonder you couldn't find Shadow if your vision is that vague!"

"It's meant to be a hunt isn't it Secret-keeper?!" Omen snapped back growling and baring his teeth as well, "I can't take all the fun out of it for you now, can I?"

"Hmph! I guess not!" Dathomir hissed back before turning and stalking away between the trees "Come then, let us go hunting!"

Quickly all of the Nightfuries, turned to leave except Omen who laid down by the fire. Hiccup expected Toothless to stay as well. But just like earlier on the Isle of Night, the boy looked up to see his friend staring at him in that same conflicted way as Moonchaser stood a few steps beyond the trees, casting her mate an expectant look. Instantly Hiccup nodded to his friend a forced smile on his face.

"Go on bud! Go hunting with your mate, I'll be fine here with Omen!" Hiccup spoke evenly trying to mask the little bit of heartbreak he felt at how he was unfairly trying to keep his best friend all to himself. Toothless quickly nuzzled his head into Hiccup's chest before turning and darting out into the night, hot on the heels of his kind and kin.

Once he was sure the dragons had gone, Hiccup slumped down to sit by the firestone again and took a deep breath to steady himself. He hoped the dragons would be gone for a while as he began making notes and sketching things in his journal.

He had a lot of things to get if his plan was going to work and now he had to be extra careful as he now had to deal with an all-seeing Nightfury lying ten feet away, watching him.

Even though he was sitting by the fire, Hiccup couldn't help but feel, he was the one being hunted.

There we are guys!

A new chapter and a new Nightfury. It's quite Obvious what elements came together to create Omen. He's been on the cards for a while now.

Not much all else to say except I'm back so I'll and get a couple of updates out this month but I have a commitment coming up in work so my time to write may be reduced.

Next chapter is provisionally entitled 'Bad Moon Rising PT - 5'

As always many thanks for taking the time toread this one and any reviews questions P.M's or comments are greatly appreciated.

Till next time

Take care of yourselves…..

….And each other!

Razor95