Chapter Eleven - The Truth Will Out

A/N: Please see the AO3 version for visual images of the Furies island and the Star-Giant.

Upon returning to Berk, the riders went to bed, despite the sun having risen. By the time Hiccup woke, it was nearly midday. He went downstairs to find his mother had returned. "Your father told me everything. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I mean, I wasn't the one who got captured. When did you get back?"

"This morning. We were accompanied by Mala, Throk and Minden; they're in the Great Hall, I'd imagine" replied Valka. "It's certainly no loss that wretched Grimmel is dead; I just wish we could've gotten back in time to help."

Hiccup shrugged. "We couldn't afford to wait. So, how mad was Snotlout when he heard he'd missed the fun?" he asked, tearing off a hunk of bread.

"I think he's more upset that Minden was disappointed. She's training herself to enhance her hearing; she hoped this was a chance to put it to the test."

He thought there were much safer ways of pushing her redefined limits, but all Hiccup said was, "honestly, Silverwing would have done most of the work. Sorry, that came out wrong" he winced, hastily looking at Toothless. "Hey, bud. I guess now that the danger is gone, you, Flare and Ripple can go back to their nest and see your dam. It'll be fun! Just be careful, alright?"

Toothless stared at him. "You want me to leave?"

"Yes. No. I mean, I don't want you to leave," Hiccup insisted. "I just want you to spend time with other Night Furies. I think it'll be good for you, and I'll be fine. I promise I won't go after any mad dragon killers whilst you're gone."

With a snort, Toothless replied "you had better not. I will ask them about it."

"Thanks. I'll give your tail a tune-up before you leave; I've got some fireproof paint left over to put on it." He'd used most of the batch making that decoy Fury. With his new invention it was easy, if not quick, to grind scales into powder for the paint. "It should last, so long as you don't get it too wet."

His mother remarked, "I'm surprised you don't want to tag along with them."

"Oh, I do; but the dragons there are probably wary of humans."

Toothless insisted, "I not-would let them attack you."

"I know you wouldn't" Hiccup assured him, "but if you have to keep protecting me, you won't be able to enjoy yourself. Or spend quality time with Ripple" he smirked. Toothless huffed and licked his face. "Ugh!"

Stoick announced, "well on the bright side, if your dragon isn't going to be around, you won't have so many distractions from preparing to be chief."

Hiccup laughed nervously. "Ah, y'know, I should go and see how Astrid is doing" he said vaguely, standing up from the table and fleeing out the door.

They left the house and parted ways; Toothless to go find Flare and Ripple, Hiccup to enter the Great Hall. "I'm sorry you guys came all the way here for nothing" he said, upon finding their guests sitting down to eat lunch together.

Mala insisted "coming to the aid of an ally isn't 'nothing'. Even if it turned out to be unnecessary in this case," she added. "Besides, who is to say you won't require more aid later on, if this Ragnar decides to come pick a fight."

"He'd better," Snotlout grumbled. "We haven't had a good battle in months."

Before he could insist that was a positive, Hiccup heard Astrid calling his name. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, not you too," she sighed. "You sound like my mother. I'm fine. A decent meal and a good sleep is all I needed. Hello, your majesty. Hi, Minden. Wait - Mala, where's Prince Oswald?" she asked. Hiccup hadn't even noticed.

"Back home with his nursemaid. I could hardly take an infant all the way here, thinking we would be in combat. I might bring him when he's older."

Heather suggested "you could bring him to Berserker Island too, so he can see where…where his dad used to live" she finished haltingly. They made no comment - not even Snotlout. Heather gathered herself. "Of course, that will have to wait until he understands better; but he's already so smart."

"I'd expect nothing less," Mala smiled. They talked about the young princes' antics, which in turn led to a discussion about Hiccup and Astrid's wedding.

"Which reminds me; Toothless might be visiting Flare and Ripple's home, so I'm going to have a lot of free time for a while" he informed Astrid. "Oh, by the way, if my dad mentions anything about chief training…ignore him."

"So what you're saying is, you'd rather spend time with me than accepting your responsibilities. I'm flattered…but you're gonna be made chief at our wedding, so you really ought to get some practice in" she reasoned. "I don't get it. I thought you were okay with taking over as chief?"

He sighed. "I don't think I'll ever be enthusiastic about it…and besides, I'll have my hands full trying to tame the Scytheclaws."

"I thought your mom was going to do that."

"…Well, she'll need help."

"I can't believe you kept those," complained Snotlout. "They're cannibals."

Fishlegs said, "actually, they're only cannibals if they eat their own species."

"Well, actually, nobody cares. They eat other dragons, and you want to keep them here on an island full of dragons! You might as well give them a buffet!"

Hiccup glowered at his cousin. "I'm not going to let them run amok, y'know" he insisted. "If they eat raw meat, we'll feed them wild boar or something. If that doesn't work then…I'll figure something else out," he declared vaguely.

Mala remarked, "a solution will come to light; it always does. You should all be celebrating; thanks to you, a great threat to dragons has been silenced."

"Good riddance," said Astrid, raising her flagon. "To the freedom of dragons!"

"To freedom!"

Toothless found Ripple and Flare asleep in the cove. "I have good news," he told them. "Now that the threat is gone, it is safe for you to fly back home."

Flare perked up and bounded in a circle. "We will go home!" she crowed. "To see our friends and families…" she trailed off. "But you not-will come?"

He wiggled happily. "That better news! I want to come and see our dam." She stared at him in disbelief, then slowly beamed a lopsided gummy smile.

Ripple was grinning too. "When will we leave?" she asked curiously.

"Soon," Toothless promised. "After Hiccup makes sure my tail won't break." He hesitated, before inquiring, "You are sure he not-can come?"

Flare shook her head. "He not-would be safe. You not-can fend off so many dragons," she pointed out. Then she sighed heavily. "You not-will stay there."

It wasn't a question. "I not-can" Toothless admitted, auricles folding. "It not just this," he added, flicking his tail-fin. "Berk is home. Hiccup is family too."

His new mate nuzzled under his jaw. "Maybe our families can live here too," Ripple suggested brightly. "Then we not-have to be apart for so long."

The idea was appealing. He knew Hiccup would love to have more Furies living on Berk. "We will see" Flare decided sensibly; but she didn't say no.

The Fury trio waited impatiently, for Hiccup to give Toothless' prosthetic a look over. "Okay! I've oiled the gears and coated it with fireproof paint. That won't be foolproof though, so try to not get it caught on fire. Or too wet. Or struck by lightning," he rambled. Toothless swatted him upside the head.

"What I look like, a Skrill?"

Hiccup winced. "I think Astrid is a bad influence on you," he announced.

"Me?" she asked indignantly. "You're the one who taught him sarcasm."

They went to the cliff side fields, where their friends bid the Furies, especially Toothless, a safe journey. "You gotta tell us everything about what you see," Fishlegs implored him, "especially if you meet any new species."

Astrid promised him, "don't worry, I'll make sure Hiccup stays out of trouble."

At last, only Hiccup was left. He reached out to stroke Toothless, only for the dragon to rear up and pull him into a hug. "I'll miss you too, bud" he whispered, clinging tight. He forced himself to let go. "It's not for long. Be careful out there, and if anything bad happens, come and get help, okay?"

Flare and Ripple allowed him to give them farewell pats… Flare bounded to the cliff edge and leapt into the air, closely followed by Ripple. Toothless made to leave, then paused and looked over his shoulder. Hiccup gave an encouraging nod. He smiled and spread his wings, launching into the air.

The riders, and other Berkians, waved to the Furies as they left. Astrid came to stand beside Hiccup, took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

"He'll come back."

"…I know."

Vidareidi

"This is a fine mess we're in," Sigmund complained, pacing back and forth. "I should have called for them all to be executed when I had the chance. We can't afford to keep prisoners. How are we to feed all those extra mouths?"

Viggo sipped his ale. "With rations from the ships, of course" he said mildly. "If that's too much of a burden, you could always send the grunts back to their fort in disgrace, and keep the commanding officers here as hostages."

Torbjorn protested, "we can't send them away, uncle. They'd just come back with more ships, more armoured dragons. Maybe Sigmund is right, and we should have just…gotten it over with. They did try to destroy our village."

"And that's a crime worthy of death in your eyes?" Viggo asked sharply. "For all of them? Most of those men are like we once were; and you would have them hanged because keeping them alive is too inconvenient," he remarked.

"I didn't mean it like that," Tor protested weakly, chastened.

Sigmund remarked, "you're the last person I'd expect to be protesting, uncle. It's not as if you and our father never had people executed," he pointed out.

"Things change," Viggo reminded him. "I'm not condemning executions in general; but Ragnar surrendered to keep himself and his men from being executed. You can't just turn around and say 'sorry, I changed my mind'."

"Yes, but that doesn't solve the problem on my hands" Sigmund insisted. "I can't keep them here indefinitely; rationed or not, the food we have is going to run out. I can't ship them back off to where they came from in case they regroup and make another attempt once that flock of dragons has left."

Caught off guard, Viggo asked "what makes you think they're leaving?"

For the first time, Sigmund looked unsure. "I just assumed…you only asked them to stay and help us fight off Ragnar's lot. Even if the ones we tamed stick around, that's only four dragons against who knows how many more."

"I'm sure I can persuade them to stick around a bit longer. At least until we've dealt with the prisoners…" Viggo trailed off, brow furrowed, then slapped the table with his palm. "That's it. We ferry the soldiers back via dragon, strand them at the fort and keep the officers as collateral."

Torbjorn remarked, "and we keep the ships as spoils of battle. That metal plating is likely worth a fortune, Sigmund. We can sell it, don't you think?"

His brother nodded. "We'll go with your plan, uncle. Speak to the dragons, and I'll inform the prisoners." Sigmund paused. "Where's Eret, by the way?"

"I believe he went to speak with Ragnar," answered Viggo, standing up.

Eret stopped outside the jailhouse. "I'm here to see General Olafsson."

One of the guards protested, "nobody is allowed to speak to the prisoners."

"It's important," he said firmly. Behind him, Thornado growled to reinforce the point. The guards glanced at each other and stepped aside. "Thank you."

Ragnar was sitting on the bunk. "What are you doing here?" he sneered.

For a few moments, Eret said nothing. "I wanted to see you locked away."

"Ah, so you've just come to gloat. You're an insolent fool, Eretson."

He didn't rise to the bait. "And here I thought I was just a faceless minion to you." Eret pulled his tunic down to reveal the brand. "Do you remember this? How you stood there and laughed while I was screaming?" he demanded.

Ragnar glared. "You failed Bludvist. You had to be made an example of."

"It was torture," Eret snapped. "Plain and simple. I think I've figured you out, Ragnar. You didn't bend the knee to Drago out of fear; you did it for the sake of a power fantasy. A lowly dragon hunter, put in command of an army."

"Watch your tongue! You know nothing about me. There was no defying Bludvist. He would have driven my country to ruins if we had resisted him."

There were other high ranking men in the neighbouring cells. None of them spoke; at least one man was snoring. "I used to think that," Eret remarked. "Now Drago is dead, and you're a prisoner of war, and I'm here a free man. So yeah, I guess I did come to gloat," he smirked, before walking away.

When he emerged from the jailhouse, Viggo was standing a little ways off, waiting for him. "What did Ragnar say?" the other man inquired.

Eret shrugged. "Does it matter? I just went in there to rub his nose in it."

"Ah yes, because indulging in pettiness is clearly a high priority right now."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly."

"When you and Hiccup were enemies, d'you think he wanted to punch you as much as I do?"

"More than likely," Viggo conceded. "We've decided to ferry the hunters back to their fort via dragon to strand them; I need you to help me convince the flock to help" he explained. "Your ship has spare rope, I presume."

Eret scoffed a bit. "What sort of sailing vessel doesn't have spare rope? To make harnesses, I'm guessing. Yeah, my crew and I will help, but then we'll be going. We're not needed here, and this place has too many…unwanted guests for a handful more. We'll head back to Berk and fill the Hooligans in."

"That reminds me; can you let Hiccup know the Scytheclaws are a desert species? In case he changes his mind about keeping them."

"Sure. Wait - what do you mean, change his mind about keeping them?"

The guards unlocked Ragnar's cell, manacled his wrists, and led him out of the jailhouse. Viggo was sitting on a crate out in the field; he gestured for Ragnar to sit down on the one opposite. Moonlight was lying between them.

"Your men will be taken back via dragon. You and your fellow leaders will be kept as hostages, but I daresay you'll be sent back yourselves sooner or later. Move against us, and we will not show mercy a second time."

Ragnar protested, "you don't scare us. What do you want?"

"I want answers. This conversation will be less painful if you give them to me. How did you contact Grimmel? I thought he'd gone to the Kievan Rus."

"You can't make me talk."

"Perhaps not. Moonlight, on the other hand…"

She looked up and hissed. "Okay, okay" Ragnar said hurriedly. "We sent the letter with a dispatch dragon to the front. I won't tell you any more than that."

"Why did you send Grimmel to assassinate my apprentices' Night Fury?"

Ragnar scowled. "I ordered Grimmel to capture the Night Fury, and it's rider as collateral" he insisted. "That wretch was gonna double cross me!"

"You hired a man known for slaying Night Furies, and didn't expect him to try and kill this Night Fury? I'm honestly not sure how to respond to that."

"We were desperate," Ragnar bit out through gritted teeth.

Viggo raised an eyebrow. "Clearly. Let me guess; you planned to use Hiccup and Toothless as hostages to make them hand over all those dragons, and you need nest queens to replace the Bewilderbeast that Drago was using."

"How did you-?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out. Tell me, why are you so desperate for dragons?"

Ragnar explained, "We need them to replace the ones that die or have been captured by the enemy. The Holy Roman Empire has more land, more soldiers, more - well, more everything. It's taking all the resources we have to keep them from taking Norway, and we've almost lost Denmark as it is."

"What about your emperor? Does he want to conquer the Holy Roman Empire, or merely keep his countries from being subsumed by them?"

"The former, at first" Ragnar shrugged, "but that's a lost cause. If you would just give us dragons, ones that are already trained for battle, we could"-

"I'm not going to feed dragons into your war machine," Viggo snapped. "What happens to them after this war has ended? Would they be released?"

Scoffing, the other man replied "of course not, why would we let the beasts run amok? The well-trained ones are put to work, usually patrolling borders, and the unruly or injured ones are culled. It saves having to feed them all."

It was a good thing Hiccup wasn't there. Viggo kept his face a careful mask. He continued to interrogate Ragnar, committing the answers to memory.

The Furies went northwest. They covered a good distance, but after several days seemed no closer to their destination. "It not-is far" said Flare, on the sixth day. "We rest a lot now, cross the ocean, and be home by daybreak."

Ripple protested, "we will be home by dusk. Not fly all night" she insisted.

"You not-should be lazy! We not sleep all night. There is nowhere to land until our nest" Flare warned her brother. "Must save your strength for flying."

Toothless rustled his wings in assent. "Rest now, fly when not tired. It not matter when" he reasoned, scorching the ground beneath him and settling down to nap. A few moments later he felt Ripple squirm under his wing. "Make your own warm spot" he grumbled. She purred and snuggled in.

Flare gazed at the pair of them, black hide entwined with silver, and felt a bit left out. "I will be lookout," she declared, leaping up onto a nearby boulder. It wasn't long before she too fell asleep. When they woke, the Furies hunted to quell their stomachs, and by the time they were ready, it was nearly sunset.

"I told you we fly at night" Flare said smugly, dodging a swat from Ripple. They flew west, Flare taking the lead. It was a beautiful clear night, and the sky fires danced across the sky. They flew over a bank of clouds; Ripple jumped through them like a dolphin. Toothless grinned and copied her.

Flare chided them. "It is a long flight. We were very tired when we crossed over" she warned. "You get too tired, you fall and drown. That is what you want?" So they glided next to each other. Ripple tucked the tip of her wing under his, latching them together. Toothless purred, utterly content.

On and on they flew, crossing miles of ocean in seconds and still with no land in sight. To save energy they flew in a winding pattern, swerving up, turning and swooping down, then up again, following the wind currents. Flare and Ripples' instincts kept them on track. Toothless followed their lead.

At last, when the sky began to lighten, something broke the endless horizon. The sight gave them new strength and they hurried towards the island. It was large with steep cliffs all around, grassy slopes on the inside and a flat topped hill in the very centre, like a droplet of water caught in mid-splash.

There were trees aplenty, several lakes, and clusters of white or pale yellow crystals. Not to mention all the dragons of many different kinds; the largest of whom was coiled on top of the flat hill, shining with their own light.

When they were closer, Flare roared a greeting. Many voices answered, and the sky was filled with dragons coming to welcome them home. Toothless was delighted, trying to look everywhere at once. There were Night Furies, Light Furies - he spotted a few that might have been hybrids. "Come on!" said Ripple, leading him to the shore of a lake. He lapped the water eagerly.

Nearby, the two drakainas were reuniting with their friends and families.

"Where have you been?"

"What took you so long?"

"Flare, you found a mate?"

"No!" she squawked, at the same time as Ripple growled "He is mine!" She jumped in front of Toothless and spread her wings to hide him from view.

He peered around her, seeing Flare nuzzling a jet black drakaina and smaller dark grey drake. Toothless felt a jolt of recognition, seeing himself in the drakaina. "We did not really go in search of mates" Flare admitted, purring fit to burst. "Me and Ripple went to find my brother. He not-is dead! He here." She looked over her shoulder. "This our dam, Blaze, and my sire, Crescent."

Ripple moved aside at last, and Toothless cautiously edged forwards. His dam stared at him. "Striker?" she crooned, padding closer and sniffing at him. Her eyes widened. "It is you!" Blaze moved to nuzzle her long lost son.

Toothless drew back, tucking his tail out of sight. "I know you not-mean to leave me behind…but you did," he told her. "I waited for you."

"I am sorry," she whimpered. "I thought you died…I missed you so much." He relented, nuzzling her, but their reunion was interrupted by a roar. They all turned to the flat hill and the Nest Queen, who was looking down at them.

"She summons us," said Crescent. The five of them - Blaze, Crescent, Flare, Toothless and Ripple flew up to perch on the mesa. They bowed to the Nest Queen as she loomed over them. Branch-like protrusions sprouted from her jaw, head and all down her sinuous spine, with little glowing spheres at each tip. The rest of her body was a dark mottled blue, like the night sky.

She sniffed them, and paused when she reached Toothless. "Who are you?"

He raised his head and introduced himself. "Striker, Queen of Berk Nest."

His dam and step-sire pulled back in surprise - at his words and his audacity. The Star-Giant growled warily. "You have come to challenge me?"

"No," he said firmly. "I came to see my dam…and others. I not-have seen more Nightwings since I was a small hatchling," Toothless admitted humbly.

The Queen sniffed at him. Toothless hoped she couldn't smell Hiccup's scent, although Ripple had enthusiastically groomed him throughout their journey. Her efforts must have paid off; he was not accused of having a human scent on him, but the Queen glanced at Ripple knowingly.

Finally she pulled back. "I am Stella, Queen of this Nest. Welcome, Striker."

The sun had risen by now. Stella dismissed them, and he followed the other Furies to their corner of the island. No sooner had they landed than Blaze and Crescent stared at him. "How did you become a Nest Queen?"

"We are very tired," Flare announced. "We sleep now, talk in the morning." Toothless was grateful. Ripple nuzzled him and excused herself to reunite properly with her own family. He yawned hugely, as if in agreement with his sister, and curled up beneath the shade of a tree to doze. She was right, anyway. He was very tired after that flight. He needed to rest his eyes…

Toothless woke hours later, when the sun was already high in the sky. He stretched and looked around. Flare, Blaze and Crescent were still fast asleep. He felt hungry, and flew off to hunt. Other dragons were out fishing, splashing in the lakes, patrolling, or rolling down the grassy slopes. He was pleased to see such a thriving nest. A trio of Lightwings flew up to join him.

"You're awake!" Ripple chirped. "These are my brothers, Dash and Dart" she introduced the drakes on either side of her, nodding to each in turn.

The one on her left grumbled, "I am Dart!"

The one on her right protested, "I am Dash!"

"You have brothers?" Toothless demanded (1). "Why you not tell me?"

"It was a surprise! Dash, Dart, this is my new mate…Striker" she introduced, catching herself just in time, much to his relief.

"It is nice to meet you" he crooned at them. "Your sister is a lovely drakaina."

Dart - or maybe Dash, they looked very alike - rolled his eyes. "You not-did grow up with her," he told Toothless. Ripple swatted him with her wing.

"Come hunt with us!" she whistled, diving towards the ocean. They found a shoal, but whilst all three Lightwings plunged right into the water, Toothless hesitated. Hiccup had warned him not to get his tail-fin too wet…but he was very hungry, and he could always dry it off. So he swooped down.

After they had eaten, Ripple and her brothers led him to meet their sire and dam, Streak and Ruffle. "You are Ripple's mate?" asked Streak, circling him. Toothless curled his tail out of sight. "You look strong," the other drake noted in approval. "You not-are tired? Nightwings usually sleep during the day."

"I slept before we flew here," Toothless replied carefully. "I not-am tired."

"She said you are a Nest Queen," her dam purred. "What is your nest like?"

Toothless perked up. "I can show you!" He snapped a branch off a nearby tree and dragged it through the dirt, to show Berk as it looked from above. "There is a mountain here, and a lake here, and caves underneath, and - and cliffs here," he finished. He had almost shown where the village was.

Dash eagerly inquired, "how did you become Queen if you are so small?"

"The old Queen was cruel and greedy. I challenged her and tricked her into chasing me. Then I blasted holes in her wings and fired into her jaws so her own fire burned her," Toothless revealed to the wide eyed Lightwings.

Streak declared, "you must be very brave. Ripple told us you saved her from humans" he went on. "She and Flare were trapped and you freed them."

Toothless nodded. "I had help from my friends" he said modestly, but from what Ripple had told them, her family thought he had fought off the hunters by himself. "Yes, there were a lot of humans," Toothless agreed vaguely.

"Thank you for saving her," Ruffle told him. "I think you will be a good mate for my daughter," she declared. "You will take care of her?"

Ripple insisted "of course! I need to talk to you" she told Toothless, leading him away and ignoring her siblings' friendly jeers. Once they were out of hearing, she demanded "why you not-say your new name?"

"They would ask why. I not-can tell them about Hiccup, they might get angry. Your flock not-does like humans," Toothless reminded her, checking his tail-fin. To his relief, it didn't look damaged. He wiped it dry in the grass.

"If they know you lied, they will be upset," Ripple protested. "What about asking them to come with us? They need to know about your humans."

"Please, you not-can tell!" he begged her. "Not yet. I will…wait and see. You can show me around?" asked Toothless, mostly to change the subject. He did want to explore the island, and see if there were other new dragons.

Ripple nodded. "Follow me," she urged him, leaping into the air once more.

Toothless didn't see any unfamiliar dragons, but he did see Stormcutters, which Cloudjumper would be very interested in. Ripple showed him a glacier that had Snow Wraiths living on it, who chased them off, and rapids that dampened the grass with its spray for dragons to slide down. It was steep and fast, ending with a big splash in the lake that the stream emptied into.

"I must be careful," he reminded her, warming the ground to dry his tail-fin on. It still moved when he checked. "Your nest is lovely," said Toothless.

Ripple purred and nuzzled under his jaw. "It is prettier at night. We will sleep now, then we will be awake in the dark" she decided. They retreated to the shade of some nearby trees and curled up together, heads resting on each other's flanks. Toothless dozed, and before he knew it, Ripple was nudging him awake again. "Wake up!" she whined, nipping at his ear-flap. "Look!"

Grumbling, he yawned, stretched and looked…his eyes widened. The island was lit up like a wonderland, mushrooms and crystals glowing in the dark in bright green and pale blue and violet (2). Ripple had told him and his friends, many days ago, about this. "The Queen is going hunting. Come on!"

Toothless followed her. "Does your Queen hunt for you?" he wondered.

"No, but she lets us hunt with her," explained Ripple. Now he realised there were lots of other Nightwings, and a few Lightwings, flying after Stella. She led them over the ocean, and slipped down into the water. They all waited, until fish came swimming up, lured by the Star-Giants glowing nubs.

She was too big to catch all the fish around her, so the Furies darted in and snatched them from along her tail and neck, the edges of her wings. "I will catch you some," offered Ripple, before plunging into the waves. She swam under Stella's wing and re-emerged with a large fish, tossing it to him.

He purred gratefully and crunched it up. Ripple went to catch her own fish, and then Flare found him. "There you are, Toothless! Why did you fly off?"

"You not-can call me that. Must call me Striker," Toothless warned her. "I was hungry, then Ripple came…I met her family" he explained. "They are nice."

Ripple came back, and the three of them flew back to the island to perch near a green crystal. Blaze padded over and nuzzled Toothless. "Flare has told us all about how you freed them from humans, and had to fight those awful dragons who killed your sire. You are so brave" she praised him.

Crescent asked, "what happened to those dragons? Did you kill them?"

Toothless shook his head. "No, we just…chased them away" he lied. "They were being ordered to do bad things by a bad human. Flare and I killed him."

"That is good. I was worried when Flare left. She promised she would be careful," Blaze gave her daughter a reproachful look. Flare snorted, protesting that she had been careful, and anyway Ripple was caught first.

The resulting squabble was interrupted by Dash and Dart, who suggested going to swim in a lake. Many other Furies were splashing about; a lot of them were juveniles. Toothless waded into the shallows and lingered there.

"Come on in, Striker!" encouraged Dart, splashing him playfully. "It is fun!"

He drew back. "I not-want to swim," Toothless insisted.

Blaze crooned in concern. "You not-are feeling well?" she asked, sniffing at him all over. She paused and cocked her head. "What is that on your tail?"

Toothless looked over his shoulder in alarm, but there was nothing on his tail…except for the fin mechanism. Hiccup had painted it black to disguise it, but it was still visible if one looked closely. "Nothing!" he squawked, whipping it away from her. "It is just a scar, it is not a problem," Toothless rambled.

"But it looked lumpy," his dam protested. "Let me look, I want to help."

"You not-can, I am fine" Toothless insisted, twisting away from her and walking in a circle. Blaze persisted. "I said no!" he growled, snapping. She jumped back and stared at him. Toothless whimpered and fled.

Flare and Ripple found him curled up behind a tree at the top of the cliffs. "I am sorry about our dam," Flare apologised as Ripple nuzzled him. "She only wanted to help. I not-understand; why you not-want to show her your tail?"

Ripple explained, "He not-want them to know about Hiccup or his new name."

"What new name?" asked Blaze, who had followed them up to the cliff.

Crescent was right behind her. "Who is Hiccup?" he inquired. Ripple winced and gave Toothless an apologetic look. He gave her a reassuring lick and turned to his dam, taking a deep breath. So much for keeping it a secret.

"I not-have been called Striker in years. My name is Toothless now. I was given my new name by Hiccup. He is my best friend…and a human."

His dam and step-sire recoiled. "I will tell you everything, but you must listen," he insisted. They stared, pupils narrowed. "The old Queen of my nest was cruel and greedy. She made us steal food from humans to feed her, or she would eat us instead," he began. Once again they flinched in shock.

"One night, six years ago, I was caught in a trap and fell out of the sky. The crash…tore my left tail-fin off" Toothless went on. "Hiccup found me. He showed me mercy and cut me free, and I spared him. I not-could fly, so he brought me food and made this," he showed them his tail, "a fake tail-fin."

Blaze whimpered. "But why you not-want to tell us the truth?" she asked.

I not-want to tell you the truth because I thought you would be angry or want me to leave…or want to hurt Hiccup" he explained, crouching low in shame.

"It is my fault," said Flare. "I told him Hiccup not-could come with us in case he was attacked. You always say not to go near humans. If we brought one here it might have been dangerous. I not-mean for you to lie," she told him.

Crescent and Blaze glanced at each other…she moved towards Toothless. He cringed. "I not-am angry," she told him. "I am sad you not trust me."

He whimpered and nuzzled her. "I trust you. I was scared. I not-know…what you would think. Humans not-are all bad. They can be friends with dragons."

"That is right!" chirped Ripple. "We saw his nest where humans and dragons live together and help each other. Toothless' human friends helped save us from the bad humans. Hiccup is kind and brave and funny just like him."

Toothless purred gratefully. Blaze nuzzled him, saying "I trust you too. If you say these humans you are friends with are good…then I will believe you."

He melted in relief. His dam folded her wing over him on the right, and Ripple snuggled in on his left. Flare sat close to her, and Crescent sat between his daughter and his mate, so they were all in a circle together. Toothless sighed and purred, feeling like he'd dropped a great burden.

(1) Sorry this comes out of left field, I didn't decide until now to give Ripple siblings. On the bright side, you were probably as surprised as Toothless.

(2) The glowing crystals are some kind of phosphorescent rock, mostly calcite, that absorb UV light from the sun in the day and slowly release the energy throughout the night. The mushrooms are bioluminescent. Science!