Chapter 50! To anyone who's still sticking with this fic, I love y'all dearly.

-HTTYD-

"Well, I'm guessing it must be cold where you're going, cus Eret has sleeves on!"

Eret heard Astrid say as he approached, and he chuckled.

"Yeah, Berk is pretty chilly but my old homeland is freezing, I hope you're prepared."

He aimed the end at Hiccup, who nodded, finishing packing a few things into a leather satchel.

"Yeah, I have some warmer layers in the hut, just making sure I have everything. The dragons ready to go?"

"Yeah, your mom is just feeding everybody before the trip. We should be able to fish up there, but I've got some supplies in my saddlebag for just in case. Not a lot else to hunt when it's not seal season."

"I've brought a few things too. Mostly tools to work on Toothless' tail, can't be caught out up there."

Eret nodded, thinking.

"You're probably gonna get hungry in the cold, so bring some of whatever you're most likely to eat. It should be under a days flight, but we don't know if it will take time to find the Furies, and we can assume they won't trust us immediately. I'm prepared for up to a week."

"Yeah, I've set up here to do without me for a week too. I'll pack some food when I go back in. Anything else I need?"

"Just... wrap up warm. We can't just stop to make a fire constantly. And make sure you have a change of underlayers. You won't be sweating up there, but if you get your tunic or leggings wet they gotta come right off cus they'll suck the heat right out of you. And my stuff won't fit you."

Hiccup nodded seriously, clearly paying attention before he headed back in to his hut. Astrid patted Toothless as she looked Eret over, chewing her lip for a few seconds.

"What is it?"

"Just... keep him safe up there, yeah?"

"Of course. Valka already made me promise to, and I would have done anyway."

Astrid smiled, giving him a one-armed hug around the middle and murmuring a quiet "thanks" that Eret barely heard. They were a sweet couple who seemed to really care for one another. Gobber had joined them before Hiccup came back out, bidding farewell and promising to keep the island running in his absence.

"Go protect them Night Furies lads."

"Of course. Ready, Chief?"

Eret asked, and Hiccup nodded, plucking at the heavy tunic he had on over his usual clothes. He had gloves on too, which was a wise decision. Once Hiccup had kissed his betrothed goodbye, they headed back up to the hut Eret and Valka shared, so Eret could get his things. He loaded up Tripfire's saddle with the saddlebags, pocketed his gloves and headed over to Valka. Hiccup suddenly had elsewhere to look as the couple kissed, Valka's arms tight around his neck as they embraced.

"Be safe."

"We will. Take care of yourself, and the little one."

It took quite a few minutes to say goodbye to all the dragons not going with them, and Tripfire spent a few more nuzzling her babies and her mate before she was ready to leave too. Hiccup hugged his mother goodbye, and Eret headed over to the female Night Fury. Her wounds were healed, physically at least. Mentally was another story.

"Are you ready? You can leave as soon as you've shown us, if you don't wanna stay. Just be careful. And me and Tripfire can carry your babies if you need us to."

She rumbled low in her chest, padding over to the other dragons - the Howls would be making part of the trip back with them, but Eret was pretty sure the Howls preferred the more mountainous areas than the Furies would and would peel off alone part way there - Howls were better built for the colder temperatures higher up, and generally coloured for camoflauge against mountain blizzards. Though the one adult they'd found told them that Night Furies could adapt, their claws looked as though they were adapted for digging through ice more than climbing rocks, and the habits they'd observed told Eret they were used to fish and close access to water, which probably meant they'd taken up near valleys and rivers rather than rocky terrain.

The Windwalkers had opted to stay on Berk, though for the moment they still spent most of their time up out of the way, visiting Berk for the feeding stations and occasionally mingling, but still adjusting to trusting humans and just how busy Berk was.

After depositing her young on to Tripfire's back with a roar that clearly said stay put, the Night Fury mother gave Eret a firm glare that said protect my babies, before she indicated she was ready to go. Valka watched them saddle up and prepare to take off, and Eret knew it pained her greatly to stay behind, but her body was already under strain from a difficult pregnancy, and she didn't have much weight to spare fighting off the cold - neither did Hiccup, but he wasn't pregnant. Plus, Valka was still prone to sickness and dizzy spells on occasion, and she didn't use a saddle so flying Cloudjumper was agreed to be only gentle flights for bonding, or for absolute emergencies. He knew he'd never keep her grounded indefinitely, but Valka appreciated that pregnancy was only a few months restriction, and the end result was important enough for her to accept them.

"Alright. We shouldn't be more than a week, but give it two before anybody comes looking. Nobody else knows the land up there but me, and we don't want search parties getting lost but it might take us time to win over the Night Furies, or maybe even relocate them."

Valka nodded her understanding, reaching up to squeeze Eret's hand and giving Hiccup another hug, since he was far more reachable on Toothless' back.

"Alright. Be safe you two."

Tripfire rumbled her promise to protect them, bumped her head against Cloudjumper and cooed at her babies before they all took off, following behind the female Fury as she began to lead them north. He was a little warm in his layers, but they'd come in handy when they got a little higher up. They flew for over an hour before Hiccup spoke.

"Are you worried about leaving mom behind?"

Eret nodded.

"Of course. I made up a load of mixes for the tea she drinks to calm her stomach, and Gobber promised to make sure she eats right. She won't be lonely with five of our six Stormcutters, but I know she'll be worried until we get back."

Most of what was under them was ocean, though they passed a few islands, exchanging little conversation here and there until Eret noticed the dragons were starting to flag a bit, and he was a little hungry himself.

"Hey Chief? I think we should find somewhere to set down and let the dragons rest a bit."

Hiccup looked around at their company, and nodded in agreement.

"Alright. There's a tiny island just up ahead, we shouldn't run into much. Let's set down there."

Eret whistled to the Night Fury leading them, and pointed down to the island. She gave him a nod to show she understood, and led them all there to land. They looked around to ensure they weren't scaring random humans or annoying nearby dragons, but aside from some very shocked boar dashing off toward the trees, there wasn't much there. A perfect little rest spot. Eret promised to watch the baby Furies while the dragons went to fish, and though he hadn't bothered filling the canteen because it would only freeze if kept full, Eret had brought drinking canteens for them both to fill up as and when they could.

They cooked fish over a fire while the dragons rested, eating and drinking largely in silence. It was wings up again an hour later, back on their way. The temperature began to drop, telling Eret they were getting closer. He felt strange flying back there, having never expected to go back after he'd chosen his life with Valka. They weren't heading right toward any of the areas he'd grown up in, but the chilled air was familiar, and from their spot in the sky, he was sure he'd be able to see some of the areas the nomadic tribes had set up in from time to time.

"I'm guessing we're getting close?"

Hiccup asked, his breath visible in front of his face as he spoke. Eret nodded, looking down at the great sheets of ice that had begun to replace the ocean below them.

"Yeah, we're not far now."

It had been most of the day, and they were all getting tired; even with a saddle, riding hard for long distances wasn't easy on them. Though of course, the dragons were doing the lions share of the work, unless Eret counted keeping two increasingly bored Night Fury juveniles from deciding to fly off for entertainment.

He'd been expecting Toothless to be the one to start getting antsy as they got closer. For some reason, it was Tripfire who seemed to be instead. Eret rubbed the side of her neck, confused.

"What is it girl?"

She shifted in mid-air, wanting to turn in a different direction than the Night Fury was leading them. Eret frowned, whistling to their guide again.

"Ok, tell her what's going on, rather than just try to fly off."

Tripfire huffed, then chattered away to the Night Fury for a moment, the two exchanging low roars. Eventually, the Night Fury nodded, and turned in a slightly different direction. Hiccup and Eret exchanged a confused look, but their dragons were already following.

"Oh my gods. Are those what I think they are?"

"No way!"

Stormcutters. At least a dozen adults that he could see, and more juveniles ambling around on the ground.

"Wow. Now we know why we never see you guys much. Who knew?"

Tripfire spun in the air and almost knocked Eret off his saddle, but he was laughing because she was so clearly thrilled by the sight. They headed down toward them, and they turned toward the newcomers. The Night Furies didn't seem to surprise them, but if they both lived up there then it was likely they at least co-existed.

"I guess I never thought about it, but those four big wings would make for good insulation while they sleep, huh?"

Hiccup commented as they landed, and Eret nodded.

"Yeah. If you've ever gotten a four wing cuddle from one, you'll know it's preeeeetty toasty in there."

The humans confused them more, and one caught sight of Eret's tattoo and immediately looked suspicious. Tripfire and Toothless both came to his defence, and after exchanging some animated roars, he wasn't roasted on the spot. Which was good. Valka would have teased him endlessly if he got himself hurt again.

"Hey Eret, didn't you say your people see owls as good luck?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering. These guys kinda look like owls, I wonder if that's where the tales started."

"Could be. We've never really encountered dragons much until the last couple of generations, but depending how long these guys have lived up here, it's possible that wasn't always the case and the stories changed over time."

They moved through, greeting juveniles and Eret looked around, spotting who he supposed were the leading pair - two Titan Wing Stormcutters, the male big and dark green, and the female almost as big but a brilliant, bright purple, save for her markings that were much darker, almost black. Their nose plates had sharper shapes, their horns big and quite imposing, and the male's tail fins were probably almost as long as Eret himself.

He inclined his head toward their sharp gaze, keeping his hands in sight so they knew he was unarmed, not a threat.

"Titan Wings?"

Hiccup asked.

"I'd say so. Either that or they are really big, but look. Their nose plates are different, and their horns are bigger in proportion to their heads than Tripfire and the others."

"Oh yeah. Wow. Think this is the whole colony?"

Eret looked around, shaking his head.

"No. My guess is since they live a little ways inland, they take turns watching the juveniles while the others go on fishing trips, cus they only tend to have one or two eggs at a time and there's more juveniles than adults here by quite a way. And see up there? I think they lick the ice for water in between. Stormcutters don't need to drink a lot after about a year, they get most of their water from all the fish they eat."

There were strange scrapes along the ice over some nearby rocks, and Hiccup nodded as he listened.

"Hey, Tripfire? I know this is amazing, but we really need to go looking for the Furies right now. Can you ask these guys if we can come back, and warn them some bad guys might come along?"

He didn't want them to return and find Grimmel had found them. Eret did bank on Stormcutters being able to hold up in a fight against Deathgrippers, but Grimmel did cheat with his Deathgripper venom shots... Tripfire relayed his words to the Titan Wings, who listened intently and eyed the humans with suspicion, weighing the information they got before giving small nods. Tripfire turned back and gave him a little noise of agreement.

"Alright, cool. Come on you two" Eret scooped up the juvenile Night Furies, who had been playing tail-tag with a couple of young Stormcutters "we gotta go find your friends."

Despite the potential threat still hanging over them all with Grimmel out there, Eret still found himself smiling as he climbed up on his dragons back. Finding this colony had been a pleasant surprise, one he couldn't wait to relay back to his wife when they got home.

-HTTYD-

Surprise! HTTYD didn't give us any explanation for why Cloudjumper was the only Stormcutter we saw, so I made my own.