Ch. 4
Dragon Haven

"Hey, hold on! W-wait just a minute!"

"This way!"

I groaned irritably. This woman was insane! First she kidnaps me, then she blurts out that she's my mother, and now she's sending me on a wild goose chase just to keep up with her. Hell, I don't even know where she's taking me. She's just leading me through a tunnel of stone.

"Wait, come back here!"

"Come!"

I glared at her as I jumped over heaps of rock. "You can't just say something like that and run off! You're my mother?! I mean, what the- Do you grasp how insane it sounds? It's crazy…!"

"Come, quickly!"

She turned to me, gesturing me to hurry along before easily climbing up a particularly tall heap and jumping over. I ran over and made a leap for the rock, but I just slid back down.

"Ugh, Thor… I have questions!" I grunted loudly, trying to climb over the rock. "Where have you- ugh- been all this time? Wh-what have you been doing?"

'Hold on, love.'

Toothless lowered his head and nudged me upward, pushing me over to the other side. I quickly got up to my feet and ran through the path.

"Please, talk to me!" I shouted. "They all told me you were dead! Everyone thinks you were eaten by… by…"

There came loud screeching that I knew belonged to dragons, but that's not what made me stop. I had reached the light at the end of the tunnel, and as I walked through my eyes fell onto a stunning sight. Dragons- Dragons everywhere. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It looked as though I were in some sort of icy dome that stood above a stony, green covered land. There was a large, stone pillar coated in ice that protruded through the roof of the ice dome and down almost to the ground, more vegetation growing on it. But it was what was going around the pillar that caught my eye. There were hundreds upon hundreds of dragons flying around the pillar; Gronkles, Nadders, Timberjacks, Thunderdrums, some that I had only discovered recently, and some that I had never seen before at all.

I slowly walked forward, Toothless walking next to me. I looked around the area to see several other dragons all around, some laying down, others playing with each other. I did see a small pack of Gronkle hatchlings playing around to my left that made me smile.

'Hicca…'

I looked down at Toothless to see him looking at something to my right. I turned my head and gasped. The Cloudcutter from before was handing by some of the rocks, and the woman who claimed to be my mother was hanging by one of his arms.

"This is where you've been for 20 years?" I asked lowly.

She smiled, and nodded.

"These dragons… you've been rescuing them."

Another nod.

"Unbelievable…"

"You're not upset?"

"What, no! Well, I-I mean… Ugh, I don't know!" I groaned. "It's a bit much to get my head around, to be frank. It's not every day you find out your supposedly dead mother is alive, and she turns out to be some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady."

The woman chuckled. The Cloudcutter chortled as he lifted one of his claws, and she hooked her staff onto it as he lowered her down. She unhooked her staff and slid down the dragon's wing, landing gracefully onto the ground.

"Well… at least I'm not boring," she said brightly. "Right?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess there is that one specific thing, but…"

I felt a gentle nudge to my arm and I looked down. It was a large dragon, a kind that I hadn't seen before, whose head was solid black and his belly was orange. He let out a soft growl and nudged my arm, sniffing curiously.

"Oh, hello," I giggled, reaching up to pet his head.

The dragon purred as he leaned into my touch, and I smiled down at him. I glanced over and saw the woman now standing next to me.

"Do… do you like it?" she asked hesitantly.

I turned my head around to stare up at the scenery. "Like it?" I breathed. "I don't have the words…"

'Hicca, I could use some help here!'

I whipped around at the sound of Toothless' voice and nearly burst into laughter. The poor Night Fury was completely surrounded by other dragons, who were crowding around him and staring at him with curiosity. A few of them leaned over to sniff at him and he tried to back away. Then, a dragon behind him sniffed, then suddenly shoved his head underneath Toothless, raising his backside up into the air. Toothless' eyes widened and he gasped. He angrily shoved the dragon off him and hissed lowly at the others, and they all finally backed away. I was beside myself by now, one hand holding my stomach, the other covering my mouth to hold in my laughter.

'Thanks for the help,' Toothless said grumpily. 'Some companion you are.'

"You were doing fine on your own," I said sweetly, now holding my stomach with both hands as the contained laughter made my stomach ache.

From next to me, the woman giggled. "Um, Hicca?" she said, and she guestured towards Toothless. "Could I …?"

I looked curiously from her to Toothless before I realized what she meant.

"Oh… Sure, go ahead."

She beamed at me before dropping her staff and crouching down to crawl towards Toothless. He looked at her with curiosity, but his face softened as soon as she starting gently stroking the spikes along his head. She raised her other hand to pet along the side of his face and up to his earflaps.

"Oh, my…"

I grinned as I folded my arms. "Not bad, huh?"

"Not bad? Hicca, he's beautiful!"

Toothless chortled happily as he rubbed his face against hers. 'Hey, I like her already!'

I giggled. The woman started scratching Toothless' chin, and soon he had flopped onto his side and started circling around her, purring loudly.

"Oh, I've never seen a Night Fury this close!" she said excitedly. "He might very well be the last of his kind," then she gasped. "And look! He is your age!"

She indicated the three small flaps along Toothless' jaw that had grown there over the past few years, touching them gently. My eyes widened and I smiled. I already knew that Toothless was about my age, but the fact that she could tell without having to ask was incredible. I couldn't even do that.

'Several months over 22, to be exact,' Toothless said, tilting his head back to look up at her.

"Ooh! So, your dragon aging process as already started then?"

For a split second, Toothless' face fell as he glanced over to look at me. He knew what I was thinking, he didn't have to ask.

'Yes, it has,' he said, grinning again. 'I couldn't possibly look this good if I were younger, would I?'

I snorted as I rolled my eyes. Not again… The woman reared her head back and laughed.

"And he's cheeky! No wonder you get along so well!"

Toothless grinned as he turned over and got back onto his feet. He purred for a moment before opening his mouth and retracting his teeth back into his gums. The woman gasped.

"And retractable teeth!" she stared, holding Toothless' jaws open as she peered inside. "Incredible…"

'Good to know that you know perfection when you see it.'

She dropped her hands and laughed again. "Hicca, how did you manage to find such a charming dragon, eh?"

"I found him in the woods," I scratched my ear. "He was… shot down and wounded…"

She slowly stood up and turned towards me, and her smile had faded, replaced by an angry look. It didn't appear to be aimed at me, though. Then, she walked around Toothless and stood next to a particularly large dragon.

"This Snafflefang lost his leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps…"

I looked down at the dragon, and saw a small, pale stump where a foot should be. I shifted my left peg leg uncomfortably. She walked past me and over to a tall dragon with a long slender neck and large body.

"This Raincutter had her wing sliced by a razor netting…"

She used her staff to lift the wind up, and I saw several tares in the end of it. I felt terrible, because there was no way for that dragon to fly again. She then walked over to a much smaller dragon, whose scales continuously changed color.

"And this poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare, and then left to die alone and scared…"

She reached her hand out to the dragon, who turned his head towards her and sniffed. I saw that both of his large eyes were pale and clouded over. He chortled and snuggled his head against the woman, who petted him soothingly. I felt like I was about to cry, but I didn't. I just felt so sad for all these poor creatures, they didn't deserve any of what they got.

"Hmm… And what of this?" she kneeled down and examined Toothless' prosthetic tail. "Did Drago or his trappers do this, too?"

"Oh, that," I chuckled nervously.

'Funny story,' said Toothless. 'True story.'

"Yeah… You see, the crazy thing is… I'm actually the one who shot him down."

She blinked several times, staring at me.

"But, it's okay though," I said quickly, and I reached over and started petting Toothless' head. "He got me back! Right, bud? You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even."

Toothless chuckled. 'Long story's short, one thing lead to another…"

"And the next thing you know… Peg leg!"

I leaned against Toothless as I lifted my leg up, showing off my peg leg. Toothless chortled, then went behind me and shot forward, pushing me onto his head. I laughed as I slid down until I reached the saddle, then wrapped my arms around his neck and started scratching all around it. As he leaned his head back down I looked over to see the woman smiling at me.

"Um… what did your father think of your Night Fury… friend?"

I noticed that she had hesitated on the last word, but I ignored it.

'Oh boy, where do we start?' Toothless said as the woman kneeled down in front of him. 'Should we start with him calling me a beast or him putting me in chains?'

"Toothless," I said warningly, then looked down at the woman. "Well… as you can tell, he didn't take it all that well. But, then… he changed! They all did. Pretty soon, everyone back on home had dragons of their own."

'Even the kids have Deadly Nadders to play with,' said Toothless.

The whole time the woman was staring at us with an unreadable expression. She seemed to be processing everything we had said. Then, she just shook her head.

"If only it were possible."

I blinked. "No, really-"

"Believe me. I tried, as well, but people are not capable of change, Hicca. Some of us… were just born different."

I slid off of Toothless' back and walked over to her. "What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath, sighed, and looked down at me sadly.

"You have to understand, Hicca, the dragon wars were ferocious back in my day. Berk was a land of "kill-or-be-killed," but I believed peace was possible. It was a very unpopular opinion."

"Let me guess, dad didn't support it either?"

She shook her head. "I knew he had his reasons for hating dragons, and I had always tried to persuade him. But, even as I tried to help I was starting to lose hope of convincing anyone. Then, one night, a dragon broke into our house, finding you in the cradle. This dragon, in fact."

She gestured up at the Cloudcutter, who chortled and nudged her with his very large head.

"Him?" I asked.

She nodded. The dragon leaned over towards me, sniffing me for a second before smiling. It was only now that I realized that his large, round eyes and the way he tilted his head reminded me of an oversized owl.

'I thought you seemed familiar,' he said in his loud, warm voice. 'Name's Cloudjumper.'

'Then what happened?' Toothless asked.

"Well, obviously I was worried so I went to go help," she said. "I rushed to protect you… but what I saw was proof of everything I believed. This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature, whose soul reflected my own."

Cloudjumper rubbed his head against hers, a low growl issuing from his throat. She smiled up at him and rubbed under his chin. I smiled at them. It was obvious that they were close. But, something about the story didn't add up yet.

"But… how did you get here?" I asked.

She looked at me, her smile fading. "Your father… he thought I was in danger and rushed to protect me. Cloudjumper went to attack him, catching the house on fire. I went to stop him, and… he carried me off. The last thing I saw was your father taking you out of your crib before the house burned to the ground…"

This time I could feel tears starting to build up, but I held them back. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Everything that she had done, all that she had been through was to bring peace to us and dragons. She really was my mother…

She finally raised her head and looked up at me sadly. "You and your father nearly died that night, all because I couldn't kill a dragon."

I smiled sadly. "Yeah… it kinda runs in the family."

She looked at me, her eyes slightly shiny. "It broke my heart to stay away, but I thought you'd be safer if I did."

I nodded, but still, something wasn't adding up.

"But, I don't understand. How did you survive?"

'I had no intentions of harming your mother, child,' said Cloudjumper.

"He's right," my mother said. "He just thought that I belonged here, in the home of the great Bewilderbeast."

I followed her as she walked over to the edge of the grass covered rock. I was just able to see part of a vast lake and a waterfall before I saw him. A giant, magnificent dragon of which I had never seen before in my life. It was massive, about the size of a small mountain. It was solid white with black-tipped spike on his head and along his back. He had two large white tusks that protruded from either side of his face. He was laying in the middle of the vast lake, as he though sleeping there. All around him were many dragons, all of whom appeared to be bowing respectively towards him.

"Oh my gods…" I breathed.

"The alpha species, one of the very few that still exists," she told me. "Every nest has its queen, but this is the king of all dragons! With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our nest; a safe haven for dragons everywhere."

"Wait, that's the ice-spitter?" I asked, staring at the dragon. "He's responsible for all that destruction?"

'Everything the Alpha does, he does to protect us and keep us happy,' said Cloudjumper.

"Cloudjumper's right, dear," my mom said. "We all live under his care and his command."

From behind me I could hear loud chortling and chirping. I turned around to see several baby dragons crowded around Toothless, who looked like he was being held at spear-point. Cloudjumper walked over to him and roared gently, causing the babies to fly off.

"All but the babies, of course," my mom giggled. "Who listen to no one!"

The babies flew down below and started jumping and flying around the Bewilderbeast's tusks. The massive dragon opened his eyes and gave a small grunt, causing the babies to take off. I giggled. Then, the Alpha slowly stood up, turning the water below him. He turned towards us and only had to take one step to be close to us. The second he was near, my mom got down on one knee, bowing to him. From beside me I saw Toothless shift around nervously, and he bowed as well. I looked up at the dragon and realized just how close he was. I gasped, tempted to take a step back, but I was frozen where I stood.

'Valka, I see you have brought someone,' the dragon spoke in a deep, booming voice.

"Yes, my king," she raised her head. "A very long awaited guest. This is my daughter, Hicca."

'Indeed?'

The dragon turned his gaze to me, and his icy blue eyes seemed to pierce through my very soul. I swallowed hard, unsure of what to do. The only person who had ever intimidated me in life was my dad, and the fact that it was happening again because of someone else was unnerving.

'Have no fear, child,' the Alpha said in a surprisingly gentle voice. 'You are very much welcomed here.'

I gulped. "Um… Th-thank you…"

He let out a low rumble that sounded like a chuckle. Then he opened his jaws, and what looked like icy mist blew out and I got a face full of it. I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them, and I could feel frost on my face and in my hair. From beside me, my mom giggled.

"He likes yah."

I smiled up at the Alpha as I ruffled the ice out of my hair. "Wow…"

"You must be hungry."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I could eat," I said, suddenly realizing how hungry I actually was.

"Good. It's feeding time."

I looked at her as she started to walk away, Cloudjumper following right behind her. Toothless walked up next to me, and we both followed after them.

"Oh, by the way," my mom stopped walking and turned to face us. "Could I see his other form?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Um… Sure. Uh, Toothless?"

'Sure, I don't mind.'

Toothless folded his wing around himself for a moment, and when they moved he was in his human form. My mom put a finger to her chin, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hmm… I see he is as handsome in this form as he is in his other form," she grinned at me. "I certainly see one of the reasons you took a fancy to him."

I giggled sheepishly as I felt my cheeks start to turn red. Toothless chuckled as I felt him grasp my hand, squeezing it tightly. It felt like it had been forever since he held my hand.

"Well, come along then," my mom said brightly. "Let's eat!"

Austen's P.O.V.

Sit here and wait for them to come back. Tch, some plan!

"I don't like it," I folded my arms. "They should've been back with Hicca by now."

"I don't like it either!" Ruffnut groaned miserably. "Eret, son of Eret was the man of my dreams- my everything!"

"But, baby, I grew facial hair for you," Snotlout incredulously.

"Me, too…" Fishlegs added sadly.

'Ugh, this is ridiculous,' Stormfly muttered.

"What if Drago shot them down? What if they need our help?" I straightened up. "We have to find them."

"Wait wait, what?" said Fishlegs. "No, but Stoick said-"

"It doesn't matter what he said, if they've all been captured!" I gripped the handle of my saddle tightly. "C'mon!"

'You're the boss,' said Stormfly before she took off.

It wasn't that hard to find Eret and his crew. They hadn't moved hardly at all since we last ditched them this afternoon. The sun was now low in the sky, it wouldn't be long until sunset.

"There they are," I whispered to Stormfly. "You know what I'm thinking?"

Stormfly chortled. 'I like the way you think, hon."

Without another word she lowered herself so that she was just above the level of the boat. As we closed in I could hear Drago shouting.

"We have nowhere to go, nothing to sell, and no heads to call our own! If we don't turn up with dragons, and fast-!"

Before he could say anymore, my awesome girlfriend grabbed him and yanked him off his boat. He screamed in fear as he was lifted higher and higher into the air.

"Careful what you wish for!" I chimed.

From behind me I heard the crew scream Eret's name and yell at me. I looked around me as the others managed to catch up to me.

"What is this?" Eret demanded.

"A kidnapping," I said brightly.

"Yay! Can he ride with me? Can he? Can he?" Ruffnut said huskily.

Tuffnut groaned and yanked her off, and Ruffnut just growled at Eret.

"Alright, listen up, you," I said as I leaned over to look at Eret. "Here's what's gonna happen- you're gonna show us the way to Drago."

"And help dragon riders sneak into Drago's camp?" Eret said, staring at me. "Just kill me now."

"That can be arranged," I said. "Babe, drop him."

Stormfly released him, and Eret screamed as he fell towards the icy water.

"That's my girl! Babe, catch him."

'Alright, if you're sure.'

Stormfly changed course and started heading down towards Eret.

"ALL RIGHT!" he screamed. "OKAY! I'LL TAKE YOU TO DRAGO!"

Stormfly snatched him up just inches above the water. I chuckled as I popped the knuckles in my fingers.

"Ha, works every time!"