Dawn came as it did every day at the nest, pale light filtering through the clouds, accompanied by freezing cold wind. Astrid was just glad she had a heated blanket. She pushed Toothless's wing off of her, knowing that doing so would wake him, and crawled out of their shared tent, emerging from warm, still darkness into frigid wind, flakes of ice that barely counted as snow stinging her face.
She was sore everywhere, but sleeping in her armor was good for warmth, and better than sleeping directly on the sharp, jagged shore. Soreness was the lesser of the two available discomforts.
Her tent was easy to take down; she had to do so often enough. It had been erected around Toothless the night before, and now came down to reveal him, stretching like a cat. The end of the thick fabric caught his nose as she whisked the tent off of its structural poles, and he sneezed.
All routine, near enough. The world was bitterly cold, and they had a full day of work to get to. But that was life, at least for the time being, and tonight they would have much better accommodations, so roughing it wasn't so bad.
She finished rolling the tent up around its posts and headed out into the makeshift village. Toothless walked off in another direction, going somewhere out of the way to relieve himself.
In the direction Astrid was going, tents had gone up everywhere, and cookfires roared, fueled by driftwood. Fish were speared over said fires, breakfast on the way. Near the shore, a long line of water-making devices lay unused, left to the elements. They had just finished their second well, and those contraptions would soon be repurposed. It felt a little odd that there was apparently fresh water under the ground here, of all places, but there definitely was, which was convenient.
Astrid tossed her disassembled tent into another, similarly-sized tent, one designated for storage. She could get it the day after tomorrow, when they needed it again. Nobody would take it; everyone knew what was stored in this tent. Judging from the fact that hers was the fourth such tent bundle stored here, she was late, if not by a lot. No matter; they knew she and Toothless were more than capable of catching up.
She kept walking, passing cooking fires and people. It was so cold here, at least as cold as Berk, but nobody cared about that. They were all used to the Winter. Roughing it for the entire season was new, but they adapted and endured.
She passed several fires before reaching that of a Berkian. Said Berkian tossed her a freshly-cooked fish without saying anything. He knew the routine too.
She could, hypothetically, have gotten one from a closer fire. But those were all Windy Isle Vikings at the previous fires, and they were, if not hostile, then not quite as content with their lot. She did not want to take food from them, even if she and the others were the ones supplying all the fish.
She made her way to the shore, knowing Toothless would meet her there, and ate as she walked. The tent village was large and still showed signs of the battle that had been fought nearby, mostly in the form of massive greenish-grey scale shards serving various purposes everywhere she looked. Tables, makeshift walls for blocking the wind, and even one particularly odd-looking structure, a small hut complete with scale roof and walls. The Viking who had made that was quite smug about his creation. Nobody begrudged him his own ingenuity, though some definitely envied him his solid walls when the wind blew.
Along with scales, there were dragons around, wandering the camp. Not all of the dragons that fled the nest were here, or even most of them, but some had returned, and they were non-hostile as long as nobody attacked them, though it had taken weeks to make the Viking side of things as non-hostile.
Astrid sidestepped a portly Gronckle and made her way down to the shore, where Stoick was waiting, along with Toothless, who was shifting his weight from one paw to the other, unable to sit still in the cold. He had all four paws to work with now, his hurt leg having healed just fine. He stared challengingly at Stoick.
The two of them really shouldn't be left alone for long. She quickened her pace, knowing that Toothless did not particularly like Stoick, and also knowing that the feeling was mutual. Interactions between the two of them over the course of the last few months had not helped Toothless's dislike of Stoick at all, though he did nothing but glare. That annoyed the Chief, which was never a good thing to do.
Astrid stepped between them, deftly tossing Toothless the remains of her cooked fish, which he snatched and swallowed, his glare disappearing. "What's today's load, Chief?"
"Nothing left to go out, but I want you to bring back updates from the Elders on the state of fish and medical supplies on Berk," he explained. "And as many fish as you can bring up."
Astrid nodded, glad they did not have to carry anything back. With nothing to slow them down, she and Toothless could be home well before dark. "On it. See you tomorrow night, Chief." She turned and got onto Toothless, pulling her helmet off of her belt and putting it on, flipping the facemask down. That was simply for self-preservation; the wind could cut and freeze at any speed this deep into the winter. Gobber had needed to modify her facemask to stop the wind from coming into the eye slits and freezing her eyes right out of her head, it was so bad.
But she enjoyed flying all the more for the danger and difficulty, even if both she and Toothless would be exhausted and chilled to the bone by the time they got home.
Toothless did a sudden spin to the side as they set out, twirling them into a short dive, and barely avoiding skimming the deck of one of the many ships locked in ice. She kept up effortlessly, laughing loudly as they slalomed through the man-made maze of masts, flying parallel to the beach to jockey through and past all of the ships.
"You know," she remarked, "we won't be able to do that in a few more months." Berk's docks were far too claustrophobic, situated right next to sheer cliff walls, to do this, and these ships would be departing once the sea thawed.
They flew out, moving through the sea stack maze. Toothless was enjoying his lack of a burden to carry by cutting loose, and Astrid had no objections. She had more than enough experience to keep up with him now, after months of flying for hours on end almost every day.
Then they were out of the maze, and over the open ocean. There was no fog barrier now. She still didn't know what had caused that, or why it was no longer in effect, but she suspected that once the skies cleared of these ever-present clouds, the nest would see the sun for the first time in centuries.
Toothless soared over the massive sheet of ice, gliding towards what looked like a river in the white, another phenomenon Astrid did not understand. How could some of the sea not freeze like that? It was convenient, even vital to keeping her people alive this Winter, but she did not fully trust that which she did not understand.
But it remained, throughout the cold months. Something no Viking had ever seen before because the ice was too treacherous, no matter how cold it was, to be walked on for any great distance. A river in the ocean, a current of water that wound through the ice, somehow unfrozen.
Toothless flew low over the strange river, looking into it hungrily. Astrid knew that face, even if she could not see it at the moment. Then he fired, and dropped down to grab the large cod he had killed. A light meal, but enough until they made it home. He ate it in the air, a messy feat, and they continued on their way.
A while later, Toothless corrected his path slightly, aiming at three dots in the air in front of them. He looked back at Astrid and warbled.
"Well..." she looked at the distant dragons and weighed their odds. "Sure. Your turn to pick a way." She had picked last time.
Toothless churred in amusement and immediately angled them up. It seemed he was going to be taking the 'drop from above' tactic. A good choice, given last time she had chosen for them to sneak up on the other riders by means of gliding behind and under them, which had taken quite a while. This would be quick, at least.
Higher and higher, up to but not quite breaking through the clouds. Astrid did not mind that. The sunlight above the clouds was not worth how truly cold and wet they would be by the time they made it through the clouds, not to mention going back down and being even colder the rest of the way home. She was used to not seeing the sun in the Winter; she could cope just fine without it.
Toothless flew quickly, powering forward, skimming the bottom of the clouds. In minutes, they were over the other riders. Then, his target acquired, Toothless dove, not roaring, content to let the shriek of the wind across his wings speak for itself.
The other riders scattered as soon as they heard that, and Toothless plummeted right through where they had been, pulling up at the last moment. The wind was a cold, painful hand pressing against Astrid's body at this point, though she had laid prone across the saddle, the breakneck speed they were flying almost enough to rip her up and off. It was a good thing she still had and used her tethers.
Then Toothless slowed, unable to take the cold any longer, and used the rest of his momentum to arc back up, falling into place where the other riders had been.
Said other riders regrouped around Toothless, laughing or in Fishlegs' case hyperventilating. Their three dragons were all unburdened.
"We didn't make you drop anything, did we?" Astrid called out, making sure. It had not happened yet, but she did not want to destroy their perfect record over a small joke.
"No, the Chief didn't have anything for us to take," Ruffnut called across, directing her Nadder closer. "And that's never going to get old."
Astrid smiled at that. Though she had been introduced to it later than the others, Ruffnut loved the thrill of riding and her striking blue Deadly Nadder liberated from the arena, who she had affectionately named Spears in reference to the spines it could throw. Truthfully, the Nadder reminded Astrid of who she had been before all of this. Strong, dangerous, and single-mindedly determined. If things were different, she could see that past version of herself riding it.
But things were not different, and she would never give up Toothless for anything.
"Agreed," Tuffnut yelled from Astrid's other side, his Timberjack keeping its distance. He had named her Blades, in reference to the wings, and possibly also in reference to the name of his sister's dragon. Blades was a she, for all of the other riders' dragons had turned out to be female, in an odd coincidence. Toothless was the only male dragon that currently had a human rider.
Ruffnut shrugged, not responding to her brother. Their relationship seemed to have been patched, but imperfectly. They were no longer inseparable, and often went their own ways. Astrid couldn't be sure, but she suspected both of them liked it better that way now, though Ruffnut still had not truly forgiven her brother for how he had accomplished it. There was a distance still, one that did not feel entirely right.
But for now, all was well enough. They worked together without issue when needed.
"Astrid," Fishlegs puffed, finally regaining his composure. "If you make Meatlug faint in midair, I'll have Gobber sabotage your next tailfin replacement!"
Astrid immediately twisted in the saddle and flipped her facemask up, glaring at Fishlegs. He had gotten a little more assertive, probably because he still had to work with Gobber whenever he could and thus needed to be a little less timid to survive his own job, but that was not a threat she would tolerate. "First, your dragon is more likely to fall asleep midair than faint. Second, do that and I'll break your arm. Third, I know how to fix my own gear now, thank you very much!" That last one was very much a new skill still being learned. She could not afford to be unable to diagnose, repair, or even replace any part of her riding gear, even if she felt like Gobber's second apprentice some days, and did not enjoy working in the forge at all. It was a skill she had to have.
"I was kidding!" Fishlegs yelled back, sounding worried she would follow through on that threat, though it was a little hard to tell his tone for sure. His face was covered in scarves and a ridiculous pair of glass-lensed goggles he had for some reason bought from a trader a few years back. Under all of that, his voice was pretty muffled. At least Tuffnut and Ruffnut had less crazy protective measures, though their hand-carved wooden masks were disturbing on several levels.
Astrid was once again thankful for her custom-made flightsuit. At least she didn't look like a deranged madwoman when riding in the Winter. She turned around, flipping her facemask down once more, and faced the horizon. They had a boring, straightforward flight in front of them, and little to nothing to talk about that had not been discussed before. This trip was one she and Toothless knew by heart. Ferrying messages, supplies, and most importantly food, from Berk to the nest and vice versa, was their current job. Ruffnut was still technically a dedicated warrior, and Astrid thought of herself as a dedicated rider, because that was basically all she did as work. She had no time for another job, especially now that she was learning the essentials of repairing her gear from Gobber. Given Gobber and Bjorn the Tanner gave her whatever she needed for free, she had some of the benefits a dedicated warrior got, too. It was not official, but as long as nothing about her situation changed, she did not need it to be. She had what she needed and a job of her own choosing, even if she was not paid for it.
Really, she did not feel the need to be paid for this. Jobs were supposed to be things one did because they had to be done. She would never consider flying a chore like that. It was a privilege.
The sky did not change as the riders made their way to Berk, though presumably somewhere above the clouds the sun was rising to its height and beginning to fall once more. It was hard to judge time out here with no sun. That made the flight seem at once both short and unbearably long. Cold set into Astrid's bones despite her amazingly insulated flightsuit, and she knew Toothless was feeling the same. This was the downside of their trips to the nest and back. After a while, the weather could not be kept out no matter how one tried. Even a dragon with internal heating felt it sooner or later.
But eventually Berk appeared on the horizon, a white and grey blob amid the frozen sea, a sight for sore eyes. She never got over how peaceful Berk looked in the Winter, at least nowadays. The snow was fresh and mostly unspoiled, and few people were out and about. It was too cold to be doing much outside unless one was young enough to play in the snow, or responsible enough to continue one's duties regardless of weather.
The other riders peeled off, one by one. Fishlegs flew straight to his house, while Ruffnut went to the Great Hall, and Tuffnut to the edge of the woods.
Meatlug, the Gronckle, lived in Fishlegs' house. Apparently, his mother was okay with that because the Gronckle was like a warm coal heating the whole house for free when inside.
Spears, the Nadder, followed Ruffnut most places and roosted on top of the Thorston house, even in this cold. She was likely going to follow Ruffnut into the Great Hall, as it was one of the few buildings she fit in, as tall as she was.
Blades, the Timberjack, lived in the woods. Tuffnut had fashioned a special whistle to call her from anywhere on the island so that he did not have to spend hours every day searching for his reclusive dragon. Blades was always happy to come when called. For a dragon said to live alone in the wild, she loved company of any kind.
And Toothless? Astrid directed him to her home, and they landed outside. He did not live in the woods. It was just too cold for him there now. He also did not roost on the top of their hut.
She dismounted and followed Toothless around to the side of their hut. Where once there had been a wide alleyway there was now just more hut. They had renovated, for obvious reasons. Toothless had smashed a huge hole in the side of the hut.
Toothless stepped on a loose plank of wood, dropping his weight on it. The large door it was connected to unlatched and swung open. That was Gobber's design. He had been both amused and intrigued by the problem of a door a smart dragon could open with ease.
Toothless went inside, and Astrid followed. Toothless closed the door behind her with a tug of his tail, and turned to her.
She smiled and got to work. The saddle and tailfin were soon hanging on the wall and lying in a solid, waterproof chest, respectively. Now that it was bitterly cold and wet outside, Toothless didn't want to wear his gear unless they were going to be flying.
Now unburdened, he looked over at the far wall, and licked his lips. He didn't use any of their signs to ask her what he was obviously thinking, but he didn't need to. Most of the time, he got his point across without them.
"I'll bring you some of whatever's cooking," she promised, and stepped through the somewhat large door set into the wall-
Emerging into her own room, which had been suitably modified to accommodate such a door, and occasionally a large reptile walking through. That had been a tough sell, but after she and Toothless had spent two days ferrying her mother and father home to Berk, they must have felt they owed her enough to actually consider her request. This way, she did not have to go through the rest of the house to get to Toothless, and in the event of an emergency was literally a single door away from where he slept.
Him going into the house was not part of the plan. But she had ensured the door was just large enough for him to squeeze through, and as the rest of their house was sparse and open, he could come in if he wanted. He did not often venture past Astrid's room, but it was possible.
Astrid left the door between her room and his open, knowing that his body heat would more than offset any drafts from the new room. She took off her helmet, laying it at the foot of her bed, and went into the main room of the hut.
Neither her mother nor her father was present, it seemed. She nodded politely to Helga, who was stirring something in a large pot. "Is Vanna home?"
"She's spending the day playing in the snow with the Ingerman girls," Helga explained, looking into her pot as if trying to find something within. By the smell, all she would find was stew.
"Sounds like fun." Astrid smiled, sitting down across from Helga and raising her hands to almost but not quite touch the stew pot, which was set by the fire. "It's not getting any warmer out there."
"No, it is not." Helga stood and retrieved two bowls from the small kitchen area of the room, handing both to Astrid and pulling up the ladle she had been using. "Everyone else has eaten, so feel free to take what's left. I'm going to be dumping the rest by the end of tonight."
That meant the stew, which was generally kept for several days, was nearing the end of its lifespan as safely edible. Astrid filled both bowls as much as possible, knowing that anything not eaten could not be saved. Their stews usually didn't last quite as long as they should, thanks to slightly lower-quality meat, but that was fine. Having Toothless meant they got to have as much fresh fish as they wanted, which more than made up for the butcher being one of the few people who still actively disliked them.
That brought Astrid's thoughts around to her reputation. She pondered that as she brought Toothless his bowl, and ate her own in her room.
Her reputation was a strange thing, now, and tied to how Berk had changed. Some people hated her for all of it, and others thanked her. Dragons roamed Berk, never intentionally doing harm, and people dealt with that in different ways. The older any given Viking was, it seemed, the more likely they were to resent the changes, while the younger portion of the population was more accepting.
The Ingerman twins, for instance, the ones Vanna was playing with, had taken a shine to the Zippleback that had once languished in the arena. It liked them too, and only a strict set of rules from their mother kept the three- or, depending on how one looked at it, four- of them grounded for the time being. In a few years, there would be at least two new riders.
Maybe more, eventually, but for now there was also a strange tension regarding riders. That was the result of most of Berk still hosting Windy Isle guests, and the knowledge that they would be leaving in the Spring. Nobody really knew how that was going to work, and most Berkians were leaning to the side of not showing the people of Windy Isle any more than necessary.
Astrid understood that. To most of Berk, Thunderguts was the Windy Isle tribe, though he was dead, and he had done a lot of damage with his scheming. Snotlout's family avidly denied his participation in said scheming, but even if one discounted that, a lot could be laid at his feet.
To the average Berkian, the current Windy Isle tribe was one bad leader away from being enemies, and she couldn't say that such an outlook was wrong. Nothing would happen until all of Thunderguts' aids convened on their island, but after that it was anyone's guess who the tribe's new Chief would be, and by extension what he would do. There was a general air of distrust toward everyone from the Windy Isle because of that uncertainty.
Astrid, while agreeing with the general sentiment, had no such feelings regarding Helga and Vanna. She knew them, and she knew the extent of Helga's treachery. Besides…
Helga and Vanna were the other reason her family had expanded and renovated their hut instead of just doing the bare minimum to repair the damage. There were two other small rooms abutting the main room of the hut now. In the Summer they might move out and have their own hut built, but for now Berk's newest immigrants were living with the Hoffersons. It wasn't entirely clear if they would move out, either; most Viking clans were large, sprawling families, and her parents were talking about offering to induct the two of them, as it would benefit everyone involved.
If that happened, Astrid would be okay with it. Having Helga and Vanna around made the hut feel more alive, even when not everyone was present.
The front door slammed, and judging by the lack of high-pitched voices, Astrid had to guess her mother or father was home, not Vanna. She emerged from her room once more, taking both bowls, equally empty now, back to the main room.
Her mother had just returned, it seemed, and was taking off her heavy coat. She smiled at Astrid, though her movement was stiffer and pained now. Her back had healed, but moving her arms was never going to be as easy as it had before. Asa didn't complain, but Astrid could tell it hurt a little. Their family had not escaped the attack on the nest wholly unscathed.
"Home early," Asa remarked, sitting down in one of the chairs pulled out from the table. "Going back tomorrow?"
"Bright and early," Astrid confirmed. "Or dark and early, given the weather." She hoped it wouldn't be snowing. The flight was bad enough without that.
"Things are well out there?" her mother continued. "They're all doing fine?"
Astrid could tell her mother still felt slightly guilty about getting a ride back to Berk when most of her peers were stuck there, but she really shouldn't. Most of the moderately injured willing to ride had been taken back by now. Life at the nest was hard enough for those in good health.
"Yes, all is well," Astrid confirmed. "Where's dad?"
"Out talking to the Elders," Asa said sourly, grimacing. "That should be over with soon, now."
Astrid shrugged, nonplussed. The Elders had eventually caught wind of the attempt at a marriage with the Windy Isle, and Sighvat had taken up the task of explaining that, a task that had stretched into and eventually gotten tangled up in all of the other things Thunderguts had done to weaken Berk. That investigation was finally winding down now, though it would not be over until the saboteurs who had killed Spitelout were tried in the Spring. The upside, at least to Astrid, was that her parents had sworn not to sign her into any more marriage contracts without getting the Chief's approval, which in turn meant they needed her approval, because she could get Stoick to disallow any contract she didn't like.
Basically, she had managed to take her own future firmly into her own hands. Her parents still hinted that she should get married eventually, but...
She had two real options. It would have to be another rider; they were the only families that would lose nothing in the process of making a tie with hers, and marrying off-island was no longer going to be allowed for her, which she was fine with. So Fishlegs or Tuffnut. Fishlegs did not appeal to her, and Tuffnut was a friend, nothing more. For now, anyway. If she ever felt differently, she could act on that, but for the time being, she was safe both in the knowledge that she would not be forced into anything, and that she had at least one not-terrible choice if she ever felt the need to change her situation.
But for the moment, all that mattered was that she would not be forced into anything. She was happy with that. Her parents...
Well, they had taken a while to come to terms with how things were playing out. There had been a few arguments over new plans to marry her out to some other tribe, more with her mother than her father, and over how she saw her future. She could not say they saw eye to eye even now. More that they understood she wasn't going to sacrifice any more for the sake of rebuilding a family name that was now more ambiguous than stained. The community provided by the Ingermans and Thorstons, who had that same ambiguous nature, was probably also a factor. They were not alone in being seen as something uncertain, different.
All of that was still in flux, too. The Chief might set things up better once he was able to return to Berk, something he staunchly refused to do by dragon. He had rejected the offer, saying that he needed to remain with his people, not fly off and abandon them. Whether or not he was personally opposed to riding dragons himself was less clear.
Maybe, when he got back, he would add legitimacy to what she and the other riders did, a visual reassurance to the rest of Berk that they were here to stay. Or maybe he would do nothing, as he had done before, and let them be... whatever they already were in any given villager's mind. It did not matter to Astrid, but it was still an open question.
Astrid went back to her room to get her helmet. She still needed to go and get the reports Stoick had requested, and if she had to go back outside, she'd do it with some protection for her face and neck.
Not that her hair did not offer protection. It was finally getting somewhat long, though it would be months more before she could braid it properly. She just preferred full protection against the cold.
Well, almost full protection. "I'm going for a walk," she announced, smiling at Toothless and conveying her general good mood. That was something she had begun to do more often. He was as open with his emotions as he could be; it was only fitting she be the same with him. The better they understood each other, the better they worked together. "Want to come?" Two gestures, follow and request. By now, she was sure he understood pretty much everything he said, but she still used the gestures. All else aside, they were still a sign of respect.
To her slight surprise, Toothless nodded and stood up, choosing to leave his warm resting place to accompany her into the village. They set out together, wading through the snow.
Dragons were around here, too. More than the nest, actually. Apparently, even Berk in deep Winter was preferable for a dragon. Nadders hopped from roof to roof, while the odd Nightmare lazed in alleyways. Terrors tumbled through the snow, apparently impervious to the cold, and Gronckles slept wherever they felt like sleeping, be that in some out-of-the-way corner or the middle of the road. There were even a few Zipplebacks walking in the distance, both heads keeping watch in opposite directions.
Tuffnut's Timberjack was the only uncommon dragon on Berk besides Toothless. There were so many other species Astrid knew of that had never shown up, though she could vaguely remember a few more exotic shapes among fleeting memories of her first trip to the nest. Where those dragons had gone was a mystery.
She only had one guess, and it was a bad one, if it was right. The Timberjack had come from the Windy Isle tribe. Their island might now be hosting rarer kinds of dragons, if it had before. Once the remainder of their tribe returned, armed with the general knowledge that training dragons was possible, along with Viking stubbornness...
She saw four paths forward. Either Windy Isle would learn, or they would not, and they would either make peace with Berk, or continue the hostilities their late Chief had started.
She was fine with any combination of those things. If it was peace, with the dragons or not, then all was well. If it was war, then she and Toothless would teach them to fear Berk, and to continue to fear the Night Fury's roar and purplish-blue blast. That was the way of things. She would defend her home if any other tribe decided they made a good target, and Toothless would follow. He protected what she did.
That was all in the distant future, though. Right now, Astrid was happy, even though things were far from perfect in many ways. She was of an uncertain, low status, and she was not a dedicated warrior. Her life now would seem a nightmare to her past self.
But she had Toothless. She had her family, seeing totally eye-to-eye or not, and a larger family than she had planned on ever having. She was still protecting Berk, and her own interests. There were others like her, and they followed her lead without her even trying to assert control.
Friends, family, purpose. This was her place.
She looked down at Toothless, walking alongside her, serious and calm. Was he content? Yes.
Would he have been happier if all was the same, but Hiccup had lived? Probably. She was not first and foremost in his mind, and never would be. But that did not bother her. She was first now, and would be until she died. If he outlived her, maybe he would find another rider to work with. She would not begrudge someone else the chance to know the dragon she guessed had been Hiccup's best friend for a time, and was now hers. She had taken up the mantle when Hiccup passed, and she could only hope someone else would do the same for her if the need arose.
If she had her way, though, they'd go out in a blaze of glory in some distant future battle, together, doing what was right. Somehow, she knew there would be many more battles to come, no matter what path the future took. She could think of no better place to be when they arrived, no better home to protect, and no better partner to have at her side.
Author's Note: So ends the first full book I've ever written with no intention of a sequel (and incredibly enough, the final chapter happens to fall exactly on my birthday). You can clearly see me leaving it open, specifically with the ambiguity about Windy Isle's future intentions and possible resources (not to mention several open possibilities for character development and side-plots among the population of Berk), but as of now, it's only barely on my radar, something I did to leave myself an in, just in case. There are plot threads hanging out, but no compelling whole to tie them into, at least not compared to the other projects that demand my time. If I find that compelling reason we might revisit this world. No promises on that one.
Also, in case anyone is wondering what's next, if not a sequel: I'm undecided. On the one hand, there's the parallel-inspired story to this one, Unwilling Flame, and on the other there's the shorter story I really need to buckle down and write, Truth or Legend. The former might be ready to begin posting soon, but I might go back through and rewrite it, and it would only be at all close to ready if I decided to cut it back into two books, while the latter just needs to be written…
Eh, we'll see. I'm probably going to knuckle down and push out a decent backlog of UotD and finish LA before I do anything else. But something new and unrelated to any of my previous stories is coming relatively soon, of that you can be sure.
