O-O-O

Of all the Skrill, Toothless knew the least about Cold. He had spent days listening to Sadistic and Angry talk, he knew Condescending had a Monstrous Nightmare lover, Tolerable could sit for most of a day without moving if he felt like it… But Cold? He'd barely even seen the reclusive fifth Skrill in the time he'd been a prisoner at the ice nest.

Sadistic's continued absence from the guard rotation drew him out, though. Where before he was a guard maybe once in ten days – another thing Toothless didn't know was how he managed that, given none of the Skrill besides maybe Sadistic seemed to like guarding their prisoners – now he was pulling his weight, showing up every fourth day.

'Why is he called Cold?' Toothless murmured to himself, looking up at the reclusive Skrill perched high above the half-moon enclosure. He held the same place Tolerable always took when watching, but was sprawled out and might be sleeping. No lightning cracked or sparked across his body at all, which was unusual. If Toothless hadn't seen him fly up there, he might think he was dead.

'It is partially because he does not care about anything,' Grey told him. 'Also, he likes to keep us in our pits during the day if the others let him, which they usually don't. And he can sleep on bare ice, like he might be doing now. He sleeps a lot. So there are a lot of reasons.'

Toothless was reminded of the things he had overheard Condescending say to Tolerable some time ago, and what she had implied. That the Skrill were being twisted by their inability to act as they wanted, by the many rules the King had restrained them with. This could be an extension of that.

The Skrill wanted to kill Night Furies. That, so far as he knew, was their normal. They would attack, sometimes recklessly, and kill. Being forced to not kill, and to interact with them on a daily basis for years, but given absolutely no reason to want to change their base desires… He could see how that might warp a person, and not for the better.

Not that they were coming from good places to begin with. The only Skrill he'd ever met not under a King's control had tried her best to kill anyone and anything she knew was related to Night Furies. He didn't dislike that the Skrill here weren't allowed to act like that. It was the only reason he was alive now.

In other circumstances, maybe he would pity them. But here and now, he didn't have that luxury. They were his enemies, and they would be even if they were set free of the King's control. In fact, they'd be even more dangerous if that happened, so any plan he made to deal with them during an escape attempt needed to take that into account…

'We can't let the Skrill be knocked out and leave them alive afterward. If it ever seems like I've forgotten that, remind me.' Either they'd avoid the Skrill, or they'd have to kill. Leaving a newly unchained Skrill to act on his or her homicidal urges was a bad idea.

'Why?' Grey asked thoughtfully.

'The King's control is the only thing keeping them from killing us,' he reminded her.

'Right. I did not really think of it… like that. Like something we could change.' She sounded worried.

'So long as we're careful, it won't be a problem.' So long as care was taken… He was thankful the King seemed unconcerned with further security measures on the Night Furies under his control. It had to be at least partly apathy; the possibility of a Night Fury hurting the King would seem insane to anyone who had not lived through challenging and subsequently killing a similarly large dragon.

'Not that I want to try that here,' he muttered to himself. The same tricks wouldn't work on the King. He was smarter, larger, and had a nest of more or less willing thralls who couldn't be counted on to leave the fight alone. Not to mention his ice breath, which Toothless had absolutely no defense against if it was ever turned against him…

He shivered and impulsively limped away from his spot by the translucent ice wall. His chest twinged, but most of the bruises Sadistic had burdened him with were fading away, and the other injuries were healing too. He was healing slower than he hoped, but faster than he had feared being near-starvation would allow.

Though he wasn't quite so close to starvation as of late. Grey's former caretaker did not drop fish off every day, but she had yet to stay away for more than three days. Whatever drove her, guilt or the need to defy the King, it was not something that had been appeased by a single offering.

He was content to let the fish come when they would and not attempt to meddle; having a potential agent on the outside who was able to fly around the nest without being attacked seemed like something to pursue, but there wasn't really any way for him to use it. He didn't think he could interact with the Gronckle without the orders she was living with coming into play, and he had no way to suggest a course of action to her without doing it himself.

And even if he could get in contact with the Gronckle in a safe manner, she probably couldn't do much. 'That would be too easy,' he rumbled to himself.

'Keep up that muttering to nobody and you're going to end up crazier than our guards,' Hefnd called out.

'Crazy is in the eye of the beholder,' Toothless retorted. He'd heard one of the twins say that to Einfari, once. It was as good a retort as any when he was caught off-guard by Hefnd actually initiating a conversation with him. Assuming that was what this was, and not just a one-off insult.

'The beholder is me,' Hefnd huffed. 'Are you still sane enough to tell me something?' He was, as always, sat between Einn's motionless form and Star's relatively lively one. Star was watching them both, her eyes narrowed. She didn't seem pleased. Einn was, of course, completely unresponsive to the world.

'Probably,' Toothless assured him. He ambled over to their side of the pond, compensating for the lingering twinges in his chest and side. Soon he'd be healed enough to ignore the remaining pains… Soon. Not yet.

'What were you and Grey going to do?' he asked. 'If you got out of the ice, into the open.'

'He never talks about escape…' Grey murmured in the back of Toothless' mind. 'Not when he thought it was impossible. Back when he and Einn were new, they talked about escape all the time.'

'There's an ice field,' Toothless said in a low voice, stopping just far enough from Hefnd that it wouldn't be obvious to an observer that they were interacting at all. He understood why Hefnd was asking now; Cold seemed like the safest guard to have if one wanted to discuss escape plans. A sleeping guard couldn't eavesdrop, and even if Cold was faking sleep he was too far away to hear them. 'It's large enough that we could have hid out there.'

'Yes, but what then?' Hefnd asked. 'You made a break for it. You had a plan to get all the way out and stay that way, or you would not have bothered.' There was a challenge hidden beneath those words, unless Toothless was completely misinterpreting the situation.

'Einn escaped by breaking and resetting his wings,' Toothless said quietly.

'That would not work for you, your wings are not broken,' Hefnd said gruffly. 'What was your real plan? If you want my help, I want to know.'

'I will not be convinced even then,' Star said sourly. 'And hurry it up, someone will be along with food any moment now. I am not going to get hurt again because I kept watch for your stupid plotting.'

'I don't understand her,' Grey huffed. 'Maybe you should not tell... '

'Some things are better left unsaid,' Toothless answered, replying to both Grey and Hefnd at the same time. 'I think you told me that yourself, when I first came here.' With luck, that would be enough for Hefnd to draw the right conclusions…

Hefnd glared at him, baring his teeth slightly. 'It would take dozens to save us by force,' he growled.

'If they were our kind, yes,' Toothless said cryptically. 'Did you not eavesdrop on the Skrill when they spoke of Sadistic's misfortune? I was not surprised by anything they said.' Not even the mention of Von and Maour joining up with some marauding human force. Though he did suspect Ruffnut had been the one to propose the idea. It seemed her sort of ploy.

'You didn't know about that until after your escape failed,' Hefnd said suspiciously.

'All I needed to know was that if I got far enough and drew the right sort of attention, the rest would be handled for me,' Toothless chuffed confidently. He wished he felt that confident, his first escape plan had always been vague and undefined beyond getting out into the ice fields, but now that he knew more, the next try wouldn't be nearly so risky. 'It will be even easier to arrange now. Who backs off after a victory?' The human force that had dealt such a demoralizing defeat to the ice nest's dragons wouldn't just go away, and the ice nest wouldn't just ignore them.

Hefnd's nostrils flared as he let out a surprised snort, and Toothless knew he had him before he even replied. 'Maybe if you could get out there in the first place,' he said disparagingly, but Toothless knew better than to believe he was really so certain of failure. The prisoners of this wretched place were all apathetic to some degree, and right now Hefnd's feigned disinterest was just that, feigned. He couldn't hide the way his body tensed, the way he was ready to move even though there was nothing and nowhere to move to.

'Shut up, Angry is coming,' Star hissed, smacking Hefnd's side quite hard with her tail. Angry flew over the ice wall and plummeted down into their enclosure with absolutely no ceremony, leaving a meagre pile of fish where he landed. He stalked toward the pond–

Toothless backed up until his tail and back paws were in the shallows as Angry snarled at him and the others. The Skrill had stopped just short of snapping distance, his teeth on display and sparks running down his neck.

'He won't be gone for much longer,' Angry snarled at them. 'Do not get too confident. We will bring down the one who hurt him and break her wings just like yours. If we are very lucky, we might even be allowed to kill her.'

'Don't say anything!' Grey said urgently. Toothless was thankful she was still in her hiding place and thus out of the way. Angry hadn't laid a talon on any of them yet, but that might change. Injured as he was, he still would rather take a hit than see her take one, if it was necessary for somebody to be hurt at all.

Hefnd bowed his head, looking away. Star huffed and glared right back at Angry. Einn twitched an ear.

Toothless stared at the Skrill's neck, avoiding his gaze and instead wondering whether he'd be hurt too much in retaliation if he tried to kill the Skrill now. Probably… And he didn't think it would help. Not if done now.

'Cower like the cowards you are,' Angry spat. He reared up on his hind legs, his chest wreathed in fleeting lightning, and took off with a heavy flap that blew dust in their faces.

'That is why you do not huddle together and plot,' Star spat the moment Angry was gone. 'He saw.'

'Then what good are you as a lookout?' Toothless asked irritably. 'He didn't actually do anything.'

'He might have,' she retorted. 'I have already been hurt enough by your ploys.'

'I am sorry about that, for what it's worth,' Toothless told her. A flash of grey off to the side told him Grey was coming out of her hideout. 'We didn't mean to get caught, and we definitely didn't mean to get you caught… whatever you were doing.' She had been so insistent on him not prying that he wasn't even going to try.

'You don't mean to do a lot of things,' Star said dismissively, rising to her paws with an exaggerated yawn. 'This will all end in pain and failure.'

Hefnd got up and went to the fish pile to sort out his and Einn's share, and Toothless followed him over, meeting Grey there. The fish were bruised and battered, but whole. He ate his share quickly, unable to make himself slow down. Getting a few extra fish every few days was good, but it paradoxically made him less capable of ignoring his hunger. Irregularity bred uncertainty, or something like that.

'Grey, give me one of your fish,' Star said suddenly. She had come up between Toothless and Grey, shouldering her way in and pushing Grey to the side as she did so. 'I want it.'

'What?' Grey asked, her voice deceptively light. She made no move to take her paws off her two fish, or to eat them. 'I don't know… You know I can never eat just one fish. I think I want both of mine.'

'You owe me,' Star hissed. 'If you are sorry, you'll give me your fish.'

'That's enough,' Toothless said bluntly, knocking his paw into Star's to get her attention. 'We're sorry, but not sorry enough to starve ourselves.' Never mind that she hadn't demanded any of his fish; maybe he'd eaten it too fast, or maybe she just didn't see him as an easy target for coercion. He was regretting apologizing at all, if it had brought this on. She hadn't demanded retribution before now.

'I could…' Grey began.

'But you shouldn't,' Toothless said firmly. 'Not because she's trying to make you.'

'You're a spoilsport,' Star growled. She swallowed her two measly fish, one after the other, then cast a dismissive glare at Grey. 'And I thought you could not get any more pathetic.'

Toothless had just about had enough of Star's attitude. He bared his teeth at her and took a single step forward, effectively stepping between her and Grey. Like he always seemed to end up doing, though usually it was more a figurative stepping-in. 'Go be vile to someone who deserves it,' he growled.

'She's an annoying, spineless waste of space who makes me sick,' Star snarled right back at him. 'You could do so much better.'

'Better?' Toothless demanded. 'I protect people who need protecting. End of story.'

'Maybe you just like her pointless pining after you, but the rest of us can't stand it,' Star said venomously, glaring at him like she wanted to give him a good clawing. 'She was tolerable before you came. Pitiful, but good for some amusement on occasion. Now she's just a love-sick wet fish doing whatever you say and hiding behind you.'

'I'm not,' Grey objected from his other side.

Toothless very briefly considered whether Star might have a point. Not about Grey being attracted to him – that was another matter entirely, and one that he already knew how to respond to – but about whether or not he was getting in her way. She wasn't hiding behind him, but he was putting himself out to defend her, without considering whether she wanted it. That couldn't be good for her in the long run, nothing good ever came of not fighting one's own battles…

But this was not a normal situation, and a single glance over at Grey reaffirmed that he was doing the right thing. She was small and fragile and in a terrible place.

'She'll fend for herself once we're all out of here.' Toothless turned, putting his back to Grey and his front to Star. 'When everything isn't conspiring to break her. Until then, I'm going to protect her. I'd do the same for you if you needed or wanted it.'

'I don't,' Star barked, her ears flying back to lay flat against her neck. 'I don't need your protection!'

'Good!' Toothless barked right back at her. 'Because I'd be hard-pressed to give it. You are the most unpleasant person I have ever met who hasn't tried to kill me, and even then I think I'd prefer the company of some of those who have. You snipe and you mock and you pick at people, and none of it is in the least bit justified. The enemy is out there,' he snarled, tossing his head in the general direction of Cold, then toward the rest of the ice nest. 'Not in here! You are prisoners, equally trapped and tormented, and instead of banding together you push one of your own away and put her down. You do more to make this place unbearable than some of the Skrill!'

Hefnd, who had until Toothless' latest outburst been watching from his place by Einn, narrowed his eyes and made to say something.

Toothless shot him a truly angry look and clawed at the ground. 'No, don't even start,' he said to the other male. 'This is between me and her.'

Hefnd wavered, but Star seemed to take it as a given that he'd back down. 'You're pathetic, and so is she,' she hissed.

'She's crushed,' Toothless retorted. 'Crushed under the weight of this place, of what she goes through every day. So are you, and so is Einn, and Hefnd. But her most of all, because you take some sick pleasure out of making it worse for her. That's pathetic all right, but it's pathetic of you.'

Grey let out a small, unhappy noise behind him, but he was too wound up to listen. This had been growing in his chest since he first came here, and he was going to speak his mind. It was nothing but the truth.

'It's pathetic, and you're a miserable, spiteful wretch who I can't even properly hate because you're here,' he said, his every word as forceful as he could make it. 'But you've poisoned any reason I might have to pity you, either. So what if she's attracted to me? It doesn't matter, not in here. I'm not going to take advantage of her, because that's exactly what I'd be doing if I did anything about it. Taking advantage of how miserable and desperate for any kind of positive attention you made her. That's not the Skrill, that's all you, and if we weren't here, I'd want nothing to do with you.'

He pulled in a heavy breath, the bruises on his chest aching fiercely from all the growling he'd been doing. 'But we're here. You're a prisoner, just like me. Just like her. I'm going to work with you if there's ever a chance that it will get us out. Until then, if you can't keep a civil tongue in your mouth, keep it shut. Especially when it comes to Grey.'

He didn't hate Star. Hate was for those who he could be sure did what they did because that was who they were, free of pressure or outside influence. By that measure, he didn't even hate the Skrill. But of all the Night Furies in this icy pit, she was the only one who actively sought to make life worse for another. For that, he despised her, a feeling that had been building for quite a while, especially whenever she made sport of putting Grey down.

Star was trembling, though from fear, anger, or something else entirely, he didn't know. Hefnd's eyes were wide, and he flicked his tail uncertainly. He hadn't been prepared for the sheer anger Toothless had vented in Star's direction, and Toothless hoped that he also heard what had been said and knew it was true.

Einn, though…

Einn was looking right at him, his eyes open and his ears up. That was the extent of his reaction, but from him it might as well have been a bark of shock. Something in Toothless' rant had caught his attention where seemingly nothing else could, though Toothless had no idea what, given he hadn't noticed when Einn first broke out of his usual stupor.

Toothless could have left it there, discomfort and guilt and discontent and who knew what else gnawing at the Night Furies in front of him. He wanted to leave it there, to storm off and let that be the last thing he said. But it shouldn't be. Not when he had their attention like this. No matter how much Star disgusted him, he might need all of them in the days to come. Ending it like this wouldn't help secure their cooperation when he needed it.

'That goes for everyone here,' he continued after a brief pause, no less vehemently than before. 'Work together. Help each other. When the time comes we're all going to get out of here,' and it was only Cold's continued snoring that let him say that openly, 'but that's no excuse to treat each other badly while we're here. Even more so if you think there's a chance we'll fail and be stuck here forever.'

'I don't treat anyone badly,' Hefnd asserted, glancing over at his father and then doing a double-take when he saw that Einn was alert and watching them.

'Letting something happen when you could have intervened counts as doing it yourself,' Toothless told him. 'Be proactive.'

Hefnd eyed Star thoughtfully. Star glared right back at him, but it lacked her usual scathing annoyance. She huffed and spread her wings, as if to fly away. Toothless was struck by the subtle bend at the midpoint of both wings. Such a small thing, to ground her so utterly… Her break was less severe than any of the others he'd seen, but apparently no less effective.

Star hesitated with her wings out, before hurriedly bringing them back down and stalking off around the pond, headed for the spot Toothless usually claimed. Alone.

He would need to be careful with that; it would be the height of hypocrisy to lecture Star for all she'd done and then treat her like an outsider afterward. They would all be watching him, and if he ignored his own suggestions they might think he wasn't serious…

He hadn't intended it, but he might have just made himself the unofficial leader of the prisoners. Everyone had listened to him. Hefnd seemed like he was going to at least think about what had been said, and Star wasn't talking back or dismissing him. Einn wasn't ignoring him. Grey…

He turned around and saw Grey standing there, her tail flat on the ground and her ears back. She looked away the moment their eyes met.

Some of the satisfaction he'd felt at finally speaking his mind bled away. The things he had said were true, but he hadn't wanted Grey to hear them so… bluntly. Or at all, truth be told. He hadn't thought much about it, beyond deciding that whatever she felt could wait to be addressed. Once they were safe and not worrying about day to day survival.

So much for that. He had no idea what she was feeling now. With all of her layers, it was hard enough figuring out whether what she showed was real at all, let alone what it might hide.

'I have siblings,' he offered in a low voice.

'What?' she asked, looking up. Of all the things he could have said, she probably hadn't expected that.

'Four of them,' he elaborated. 'An older sister, a younger brother,' though he didn't know for sure whether Maour was younger, it certainly felt that way sometimes, 'and a hatchling sister and brother.'

'You… shouldn't be talking about this,' she hissed worriedly, her own feelings momentarily forgotten. 'Someone might hear!'

'Cold is still asleep,' he said reassuringly. He had avoided outright roaring during his rant, and apparently Cold could sleep through anything short of that. He was beginning to understand why the other Skrill let Cold keep watch so seldomly. He was a potential breakout waiting to happen, compared to the others. Something to keep in mind for later.

'Still,' Grey insisted.

'I'm trying to explain,' Toothless persisted. 'I was helping my parents watch my siblings for years before I got caught up in all of this. You know how hatchlings are, they trust everyone and can be easily hurt. They're learning.'

'Yes…' Grey said slowly.

'I don't see that when I look at you,' he said, looking her in the eye, 'but it's… similar. I want to help you.'

'Maybe I don't want that kind of help…' Grey whispered. 'You're… nice. I like being around you.'

'That's because I'm a good person,' he said gently. 'I know those are hard to come by in here. When we leave–'

Grey huffed doubtfully, but he pushed on anyway.

'When we leave,' he repeated, 'you're going to meet a lot of people who you like being around. And you're going to grow, and change, and be the person this place would never let you be. I want to help you with that. But I don't see you in any other way… I can't. Do you understand why?'

'Because I'm a fledgling?' she guessed. 'Even though I'm not really?'

'You're not you,' he chuffed. 'Whoever you are without this place weighing on you. You need some time in the sun. Time to be yourself. To grow.'

'I try not to think about that,' Grey whispered. 'It's so far away, so impossible…'

'It'll happen,' he promised. He stepped forward, slowly and carefully putting a wing over her head. Holding her close. Her soft, scaleless skin was smooth against his chest and neck. 'So… don't feel bad?'

'It was stupid anyway,' Grey huffed. 'I'm not funny even though I try to be. I'm not pretty. I'm not confident.'

'Even if you are not now, you will be,' he told her. He could argue that she was all of those things now, but she would hear it as insincere no matter how he meant it, and if he was honest she wasn't really any of those things, so it really would be insincere. 'Once we're out of here.'

'Once I'm free…' she murmured.

If she would ever be free. Toothless had confidence that his siblings and Ruffnut would come through, that he could get the other Furies out when the time was right, but he wasn't certain of some inevitable success. And if he failed, if Grey's newly-raised hopes were dashed again… He'd already seen what that looked like. Einn's near-total apathy. He didn't want that to happen to Grey.

But even Einn had listened this time…

He couldn't fail again.

O-O-O

Ruffnut glared at three chunky stone tiles, before clutching them jealously to her chest. She had trouble distinguishing between the overly complicated symbols, but the game itself was simple… and she was losing. Worse, she was losing to an utter imbecile.

The man across from her was dark-skinned and entirely bald, up to and including lacking any visible nose hair. He wore a black tunic and a heavy grey overcoat, and a heavy bracelet of shriveled, scaled limbs clasped together in a morbid circlet. He was winning, with only one tile left and a self-satisfied smirk. Eret, to her right, only had two tiles left, but he had just gone. The fourth player, a large woman with an eyepatch and messy braids, was far and away the least likely to win, with all five of her tiles still in hand. They all sat at a rough wooden table beneath a green lantern, safely ensconced in one of the larger wooden ships of the fleet.

The bald fun-crusher across from her eyed his single tile contemplatively, then waved his hand. "I can do nothing this turn," he proclaimed.

The woman immediately slapped down one of her many tiles, adding to the maze-like array they'd built up on the table. "Scythe to Scythe," she proclaimed.

"Doesn't look like a scythe," Ruffnut muttered. It really didn't; neither the farming implement, nor the weapon Maour had named after it. It was just a bunch of curved lines more reminiscent of a hairball than any tool. The other symbol on the woman's tile was a similar collection of lines, though it sported three forked tines that jutted out one end.

She looked at her tiles again, but of the six figures they presented, none matched it or the other loose ends available to her. "I've got nothing," she admitted.

"Neither have I," Eret said. "Which probably means–"

"That is game," the bald man announced, connecting his last tile to the one the woman had put out. "Three in a row! That's three of my gold back from each of you," he added.

"Yeah, yeah" Ruffnut muttered, tossing a few curious gold coins over. She couldn't be too bitter, they weren't real gold and he'd supplied them all with equal amounts for the purposes of learning the game… But to lose all of her coins meant she was out of the larger game, and she only had one left, now. They'd already knocked out a weedy man with several missing teeth a few rounds ago.

"You are all doing well," the bald man assured them as he swept his winnings down into the satchel he kept by his feet, then pulled all of the tiles to himself to begin the process of flipping them over and mixing them together. "Not everyone has the cunning to play these games. You would not believe how many storm off the moment I start explaining the rules."

Ruffnut was certain that the previous players who had 'stormed off' had left because of the man's grating personality and constant insincere praise. The game wasn't hard to learn, so long as one had motivation… And he was more than willing to teach them. Probably because it was supposed to be played with real valuables, not false currency.

She knew a scam when she saw one, and he was obviously running the classic 'build up, then kick between the legs' ploy. He lured them in with the promise of a distraction on a horribly windy and snow-filled night, acted innocent and professed his desire simply to play his foreign game with someone, and set out the first 'teaching' game with no real stakes. By the end of this game, she expected he'd barely eke out an overall win, and then next time, when there were real stakes, he'd play for real and rob them blind.

She knew the trick well; she'd done it to Fishlegs years ago, back on Berk. The fancifully carved model Snaptrapper she'd swindled had held pride of place on her bedpost for a few weeks before it was burned in a tragic Tuffnut accident.

But here she was, playing anyway. Partly out of true boredom; she wasn't going to lose anything now, during the practice game. Then there was the fact that Eret was here, and his presence, shirt-wearing though it might be, was definitely an incentive.

"I'll get you yet," the woman exclaimed. "You're not winning by so much anymore."

"You are growing skilled," the bald man assured her. "By the time we play for real stakes I will have to worry for my valuables."

"What are you planning on putting up?" Eret asked, leaning forward. "I've got a gold belt buckle, but I'd rather not wager it for a few pieces of bone or something."

"I keep a collection of interesting things for wagering," the bald man replied. "I have carvings, dragon bone relics, all sorts of things."

"All sorts of things you've 'won'," Ruffnut said.

"Yes, of course," he said with a wide smile. "What about you? You must be paid well, as one of Drago's favored right hands."

"It's a living," Ruffnut said vaguely. "I could probably bring a few Night Fury scales, since they're more interesting than boring old gold." Not to mention she could get shed scales for free; she knew Von had dropped at least one since they'd met up with Drago's fleet, and Von famously never threw out any of her shed scales, so she'd still have it somewhere.

"Night Fury!" the braid-toting woman said loudly. "It's a fell sight, that. You would dare approach that thing or its keeper?"

"Given we're all still alive to talk about it, I don't feel threatened," Ruffnut said, leaning back in her chair. Nobody knew she slept in the same cabin as the 'fell beast', mostly because she was careful about when and how she went back to the visitor ship. It wasn't a secret she was too worried about keeping, she could always spin her association with Maour as a recruiting mission if anyone found out. So long as she didn't directly lie about things, keeping it all vague and mysterious only worked to her benefit.

"I will have to up my wager next time, then, if such a prize is to be offered," the bald man said reverently. "You are a dragon hunter?"

"Dragon trapper," Ruffnut clarified just as Eret opened his mouth. He was touchy about the difference, and her preemptive strike earned her an amusing look from him. Maybe, if she was convincing, she could get him to offer up his shirt as his wager… If only the others at this table valued him not having it as highly as she did.

"I have a rare and useful delicacy in my possession," the bald man offered. "It is made with the finest spirits from the East, and so much as smelling it can drop dragons out of the sky. To drink it makes them pliable… It is worth much, and I think it could be useful for you."

Ruffnut was intrigued. The pranking potential alone… "Does it actually work?" she asked.

"I've used it to defend my ship on occasion," the bald man assured her. "It smells of fire and eye-wateringly strong mead, but burns so badly on the tongue that I could not taste anything for a week the one time I tried it. I once saw a dragon drown from catching a whiff at the wrong time and falling into the ocean."

The woman laughed loudly, and Eret let out an amused chuckle. Ruffnut smiled, though she knew it was a predatory, vicious expression. She was still sure the man meant to swindle her and the others, his prize was just more enticement for them to feel justified in offering up their valuables for him to take…

But she was a trickster too, and she wanted that drink. She'd just have to find some way of winning against an expert and possible cheater. "Bring that next time we meet, and I'll bring all the scales I can get. I'd like to win your wine."

"I'll bring my buckle," Eret added.

"And I a jeweled crossbow!" the woman agreed.

"Then let us practice," the bald man suggested with a small smile. He shoved the now thoroughly mixed collection of tiles into the center of the table. "Draw your fortunes, and think carefully," he intoned. "Luck and skill alike will win you the game."

Luck, skill, and a healthy dose of trickery. Ruffnut pulled her tiles, but her mind wasn't on tonight's game. Not anymore.

O-O-O

It was night, and the ships were all anchored. The bitingly cold wind and snow had driven all but a skeleton guard into the depths of the ships, out of sight. The green lanterns glowed fitfully all across the fleet.

But not everyone was inside, waiting for the night to depart. Maour was asleep, Von knew that for a fact. Ruffnut, last she had seen, was sprawled out on their cabin's wooden floor. She spent her days doing who knew what – she had said something about sabotaging tunics and pretending to be in charge – but she always returned there to sleep.

Von, on the other paw, was very much awake, though she was bitterly regretting the necessity. She perched silently on the metal-plated cabin of the rearmost ship in the fleet, watching a strange, mostly-silent ritual take place where none would see it.

Two Gronckles dragged a cage from behind the cabin, biting into the corner bars and pulling with all their might. Once they had a cage behind the cabin, the Nadder from before spoke the same thing she asked every other caged captive.

'Have you decided to stay and fly against our enemies, or to leave these lands? If you stay, you will cooperate and obey our leadership, and you will not be allowed to leave. There will be no going back on your decision until the ice nest has fallen.'

The captive being addressed was a species Von had never seen before, shaped like a Nightmare but smaller and with shorter wings.

'I want to leave,' the Nightmare-esque dragon said in a ragged, fearful voice.

'Then you may leave,' the Nadder said solemnly. She raised one leg, her talons gleaming wetly with melted snow, and poked at the cage's locking mechanism for a few drawn-out moments. It was not a simple key-based lock, Von had no doubt that a Nadder could never undo such a thing on her own, but neither was it as basic as a latch. She didn't know enough about the creations of humans to say more; Maour or Ruffnut could have explained it if she'd bothered asking.

Whatever the trick was – on second thought, Von really did need to find out in case she ever found herself wanting to open a cage on her own – the Nadder had the barred door of the cage swinging outward after only a few moments of fiddling.

The Nightmare-esque dragon jumped out into the open like they were afraid the door would be shut in their face if they lingered, and took off without so much as a word of thanks, flying low to the water.

Nothing stopped the dragon's frantic departure. Von watched the rapidly retreating figure until she lost track of them in the snow-blurred distance. No human would ever have seen them go, not without eyes as good as hers. No dragon leaped up from the depths to snare them, physically or mentally.

The promise of freedom to those who wanted it was good, it seemed. She was glad to see it, given she had no idea what she would have done if it turned out to be a trick.

But the release of one dragon was not a momentous occasion to anyone else involved; only Von was seeing it for the first time. The Gronckles had gone back to bring in another cage, and the Nadder was shaking the gathering snow off her wings and tail as she waited. The next cage came much quicker, containing a downright scrawny blue Zippleback. One head stared warily at the Gronckles, while the other eyed the Nadder appraisingly. When the same question was posed to them, their answer was simple.

'I will fight for you if it saves others,' they said in their singular mental voice. Von wasn't sure whether they were a 'they' at all. From what she had been taught as a fledgling, it depended on the individual, and whether the heads possessed divergent personalities or not. The former tended to act as two beings with one body, while the latter often behaved just like a one-headed dragon except in times of stress. She had never personally known a Zippleback, so that was all she knew.

'You are certain?' the Nadder asked. 'There is no turning back, and I know your kind can be prone to second-guessing your decisions.' It seemed she, or the alpha that might be speaking through her, knew enough to ask for clarification.

'I do not speak lightly,' the Zippleback confirmed. 'And I do not argue with myself. This is my choice.'

'Then you should look,' the Nadder told him, stepping to the side. The waters behind the ship roiled and churned, and the King's massive brow rose, one large eye staring unblinking at the caged Zippleback.

Von looked away, though she didn't think she would be caught up just by looking from above when the alpha might not even be aware of her presence. Not with Maour in her head… but better safe than sorry.

'You did not tell me of this…' the Zippleback hissed.

'So that any who decided to leave could not spread the knowledge to our enemies,' the Nadder said firmly. 'We told you that you would be compelled to stay. You have not been lied to.'

'So long as I can fight,' the Zippleback growled.

'You will,' the Nadder assured him. The King's head sank beneath the waves once more, nothing of apparent significance having changed… But Von knew better. That Zippleback was stuck here, now. Linked, his very body able to be commandeered at any moment, forced to obey any rules his alpha set. A single, powerless subordinate to someone far bigger – in every sense – than himself.

It was not an existence she thought she would ever be able to tolerate, but the Zippleback bore it with little outward sign of discontent. 'And here I was, thinking that there would only ever be one mind in my body from now on,' he sighed. 'Very well.'

'I'll show you where we all sleep,' the Nadder said as she moved forward to unlock his cage. 'It is warm and smells far better than anywhere else on these floating trees. We also have fish brought in for us. There are cages, but they do not lock like these do…'

The door swung open, and the Zippleback ambled out, flinching as he walked out into the icy snow. 'Warm sounds good,' he said vehemently.

The two circled around the cabin. The Zippleback eyed the rows of cages lined up on the front deck of the ship, but followed dutifully as the Nadder led him past them.

Then he looked back, maybe thinking to catch a glance of the alpha in the water. Von had shifted around her perch on the cabin to watch them, and her eyes briefly met two of his as one head looked her way.

He squinted at her, then turned away. 'What does your alpha think of the Night Furies?' he asked casually.

'Nothing,' the Nadder replied, her voice growing faint as they moved away from Von's not-so-hidden perch. 'Whatever madness possesses the ice nest involving them, it holds no sway here. Is that going to be a problem?'

'Far from it,' the Zippleback said firmly. 'I was just checking.'

As the Zippleback and the Nadder departed, the pair of Gronckles ambled out to retrieve the next cage from the long rows. At the rate they were going, the deck would be empty by dawn. Some of those currently imprisoned dragons would leave, but others would stay and fight… for the other side, this time. And they would do it willingly.

It was cold out, but Von felt warm inside. This could work. It really could, whether or not she and Maour and Ruffnut joined in. It didn't rely on them, it was going to happen anyway. They just had to rescue her brother when it did happen. Their allies would do the rest.

O-O-O

Author's Note: This is perhaps the biggest overarching change I made that diverges the final draft of this story (what you're reading now) from the first draft. Toothless and Grey are not going to be in any sort of romantic relationship in this story. Because looking back at my ill-advised first draft and reading between the lines, it's extremely creepy for Toothless to feel any sort of attraction to someone so obviously damaged and vulnerable in such a bad position. Grey is not okay, she's in a complicated and unhealthy state of mind, and I would even say she's not mentally mature, despite her age (it's implied that she's been a captive here since early in her childhood, and it's pretty hard to mature without living a life). She's the embodiment of vulnerability, and while it's totally possible she'd have a crush on a healthy, kind, engaging male who comes in and brings some hope to her life, him returning that affection in any way other than platonically is way too problematic.

Him wanting to cherish and protect her, on the other hand? Yeah, in spades. Especially since he's fresh off helping raise two hatchlings for the better part of three years. And Grey needs a protector, a guardian, way more than she needs a romantic partner. But the me of… I think it's four years ago now, which is insane… didn't think about that. At all. So the first draft plowed right through all of that weirdness with an oblivious wagonload of cliches.

All that said, here's a question: Would anyone be interested in, once this story is over, seeing the cringe-worthy first draft edition in all of its terrible glory? It would be minimal effort for me to put it up (with appropriate warnings that it is in no way representative of anything I'm proud of), since it's written already and I'd not be improving it, beyond technical stuff like spellcheck. And I'm sure some readers would enjoy it anyway; it's about the same writing level as Living Vicariously, having been written fresh off the back of that. Plus all of the plot differences… Valka's part in the story is totally different, and the same can be said of Drago. And Star. Definitely Star. Also Grey and Toothless, of course. It's a totally different story, fully written already.

Something to think about. I wouldn't put it up until this story was over in any case, so it's not a pressing matter. Just something that I've been considering, especially as I was writing this chapter.