If there happens to be one thing that today successfully taught me, it's the fact that Toothless' covertness remains unpredictably skilled and deeply agitating.

After what felt like hours, the probability of me finding the Alpha had fallen drastically. I don't even know how I was incapable of finding his scent throughout the grass, especially with him being one of the most noticeable scents I could recognize.

My tracking game didn't fall just yet though, as I proceeded to sneak through the large patches of grass, my head low to try and pick up the scent of the Night Fury. Yet, judging from how my luck was doing starting now, it didn't seem like I would win this time.

My doubts were suddenly tossed aside as I was able to detect something... shining onto the ground below. A slight reflection of the sun gave me a clear view that something was made of metal within the area, and it was near me.

Yet considering how we weren't so far from the village, there couldn't have been a way that this was a trapper by any chance. And there was only one person out of Berk who had metal on them at all times... that's when I realized.

So with a quick swipe of my tail behind me, I twisted my body in hopes that I would find my opponent from my attempt at detection. Yet when I looked around, Toothless didn't happen to be... heard, or even smelled within the grass.

"Okay, Alpha, you're too good at this," I purposely said out loud in hopes that he would've finally perked his head up from somewhere and finally reveal his presence to me, keeping in my same position while surveying the area.

Still no sign.

"I forfeit, Toothless. You're better at this little game than I am," I said with a soft chuckle while making my tone more audible to the region I was in, still remaining quiet while taking the minute to pull myself to a full stand and slowly move through the grass, my head keeping low in case I found anything.

Now, I won't lie, this little hiding game was not good on my end. We had been at this little activity for the last 3 hours, and I only happened to find Toothless' tracks as he was able to fully cloak himself within the region. Perhaps it was either his naturally dark scales that allowed him to blend into dark areas or his slim frame.

Either way, it was a perk that mother nature granted him, a perk that also was able to show his beauty... where'd that come from?

I shook my head before any images could've bypassed my barrier and managed to slip into my head, not really wanting to find myself lusting for Toothless in the middle of a moment where the two of us were currently in a little match of enjoyment.

But just before anything else could be thought of, I felt an abrupt force as I was shoved onto my back by a sudden blur, releasing a soft roar of discomfort from the action. Yet upon raising my head, the first thing I could notice was... Toothless... in front of me, laughing.

Okay, maybe I missed a chapter or Toothless found something incredibly hysterical that I didn't seem to find the same.

"What's so funny?" I managed to grumble out as I pushed myself off the ground, softly grunting from the ache that gently pierced along my center torso... Gods, he's strong for someone that little.

"I'm just... wow," He said as his laughter began to diminish, letting out a soft 'phew' as he brought himself to stand up with more stability. "You are one of the best trackers that happen to be in Berk, yet you somehow failed to detect me,"

"Okay, that's not true, I had other things in my mind," I lied with a roll of my eyes, rubbing one of my talons along the top of my head to get off anything that would've managed to stick onto me upon being struck. "If I wanted to truly hunt you, I could've hunted you,"

"Oh really?" The alpha teased me with a delightful purr, slowly making his way forward while his gaze slowly rose upwards, meeting mine. "What did you happen to have in mind that prevented you from hunting me?"

Mentally, I had no clue at all on what I was going to respond with as I surveyed through 20 different reasons that I could've listed to prevent his suspicions, eight of those needing to be crossed off the list because Hookfang could've been in the region, and 5 others because it'd piss him off.

So without a second guess, I took the quick time to react and respond to the quickest thing that could've happened to pop into my mind.

"Mating Season,"

Great thinking, Cloudjumper.

Looking down into the emerald luminaires that stared back at me, I could see the gears turning within his head as he was questioning himself why that could've been my primary distraction. Although, I kept quiet as I allowed him to finally take the minute to process.

"Mating Season? What's so distracting about that?" Toothless' words echoed through my head as he spoke, and I struggled to spend another second trying to think of a response in counter. Thankfully, he happened to draw his own conclusion before I could. "Oh... I get it now."

"Do you?" I asked as if I were curious, while in reality, I thanked Odin for wishing luck on me.

"Well, yeah," He spoke once more, stepping to my side and sitting down next to me, my gaze locked onto his the entire time as he got closer to me. "You're a Stormcutter, and I don't recall any happening to be around Berk, so I can see why you happen to stay unfocused during the season."

That wasn't at all what crossed my mind, as I gave a slight tilt of my head in response to his statement. He didn't happen to question that, looking down to the grass for a minute. I assume he was waiting for me to give him a response, and truthfully, I wanted to.

The last time I had such a powerful mating urge, was years ago, back when Valka was still new to the Bewilder's Sanctuary. A beautiful dragoness of my breed approached me, stating that she had never happened to notice me before, and I didn't waste any time introducing myself to her.

I couldn't... let it go, really. Memories of the time before the two of us had split apart surfaced in my mind almost constantly ever since I found Toothless. It wasn't something I could give up, it was something that was likely going to haunt me forever.

I didn't want to let it go either...

"Did I hit a nerve?" Toothless' voice broke me out of my trance as I stared down at him blankly, just looking down at that slightly confused expression he gave me. I didn't speak at all, just... taking the moment to memorize his features.

"Cloudjumper?"

His voice... so...

Tempting.

"Your eyes," I whispered softly, seeing his head gently cock to the left as he looked back at me. "Would it be wrong to ask if anyone else has told you how beautiful your eyes are, Alpha?"

I knew I did something because after I finished speaking, Toothless looked... shocked before it turned into a flustered expression, his gaze evading mine as he stared to the side. I could tell he was blushing, just from his sudden shift, and slightly darker hue on his cheeks.

"O-Oh, stop, you don't mean that," He said with audible embarrassment, and I knew that what I said wasn't going to go that easy. So with a soft purr, I stepped closer to him, gently nuzzling the top of his head to catch his attention. "O-okay, maybe you do mean that,"

"I don't lie to my Alpha, I only show my loyalty and compassion," I whispered into his audit, before giving a slight nuzzle onto his cheek. "I figured that of all people, you would happen to somehow notice that, with the amount of time I spend with you."

I could hear him slightly shudder with anticipation as I placed a long lick that trailed from his cheek to his neck, just above... Hookfang's mating mark. The feeling and his scent were just enough to make me rageful, as I had... an urge, a dare to mount Toothless right here, and take him as my own mate.

Hookfang was a Monstrous Nightmare, one that belonged to Toothless' former home before Hiccup. I know the two had a longer span of knowing each other, but I never had something tell me so... abruptly. Toothless was not destined to be his, and I'll guard that fact till the day it isn't true.

"I-Is that so?" He finally managed to speak up as my visage trailed to meet his again, my head pulling back a slight amount to look into his eyes. At that moment, the two of us didn't need to further explain to each other what we should've done, or said.

So without another word, I gave another lick onto where Hookfang's mark was, but this time I repeated my process, dragging my tongue over the marked region over, and over again. The only motivation I needed was Toothless' purrs, which grew louder the more my tongue brought itself to his scales.

What I noticed was Toothless' head slightly tilting to the side as he began to heavily breathe now. I could not only hear it but feel it as I was able to notice the feeling of his shoulder region slightly raising upwards in a breathing motion before falling back down.

Did... he want me to mark him?

"Alpha?" My voice broke the delay of conversation as I pulled my head back slowly, watching his head turn as his gaze met mine once more.

"Yes?"

Looking into his eyes, told me something that I shouldn't have. In his eyes, I could see it, he wasn't sure himself about what the two of us were doing. He was still... innocent, he still wasn't aware that I had just attempted to court him regardless of the fact he already had a mate. But yet, I saw something else.

Was it desire? Was it care? I couldn't tell what it was, but it wasn't anything that happened to show any sign of pain just from the interaction the two of us had engaged in. It looked more as if it were comforting as if he wanted me to continue with my actions, regardless of the outcome.

I couldn't. I couldn't hurt him like this.

"What... Uhm... what were we talking about?" I asked him with a gentle smirk, seeing his facial expression shift as his slight fluster shifted into a complete blush as he hurriedly looked away, brushing his tail against his front limbs.

"I-I uh..." He stuttered out as he was now the one struggling to look for a response. I could see it all from here, that he was in the exact state I was in just a few minutes ago when I was trying to conjure a lie. "I asked if I s-struck a nerve, talking about mating season but... I think I did."

"You didn't strike a nerve, I am capable of talking about that, I just suppose the scents of other dragons got into my head and caused me to... yeah, we'll leave it at that," I said now as my gaze shifted down for a minute, not wanting to look at him.

"Wait, you can scent other dragons... someone else was here!?" He said with worry as my gaze shifted back up to him, confused for a minute. I was lying, again, because I didn't want him to think about my courting attempt... but then I actually did smell a scent.

"Uh-"

"Evening," Before I could say anything, me and Toothless' heads turned over to the side to see the blue Deadly Nadder sitting a few feet away from us, wearing a somewhat confused expression. "I was looking for you two all day, and now I finally found the two of you... just at the wrong time,"

"Gods, I uh... sorry," Toothless said with a slight whine, as my gaze was focused on Stormfly. She didn't seem to be rather annoyed or disappointed from my view, as she happened to stay rather calm. "The two of us just... got carried away in the scents of the season."

"Well, I hope the scents aren't that strong because Hookfang is walking again," Hearing that made my stomach drop, as I shifted myself a little to be more comfortable in my position, trying to make sure that I had processed what he had said correctly.

"Wait, really!?" That happened to brighten Toothless' mood because a large smile formed over his face, his tail gently swaying behind him as if he were an excited canid. "That, that's great! Thank the gods!"

"He wanted me to come and get you, he's down by the beach right now so I figured that's where you should start heading before you happen to go anywhere else in hopes of searching for him," Stormfly notified him with a smile, also visibly happy to see that her friend's spirits were lifted easily.

"Right, right, thank you for telling me," He said with a cheerful smile before he shifted over to look at me. Before anything could be said though, I gave him a reassuring nod as a sign that I wouldn't feel any sort of way if he left. "Okay, I'll catch you by the Meade Hall at the latest,"

Without any warning, I watched him turn over and stretch his wings out as he broke into a slight jog, before leaping upwards and taking to the skies, soaring off to go find his mate as I remained in my spot, letting out a soft sigh from the feeling of the sunlight shining down on me.

But then, my gaze shifted over to Stormfly who stared right back at me with an expression that basically said 'are you serious?' I didn't say a word as I lowly growled, looking downwards at the dirt below me as I could hear her approaching me.

"Trying to court the Alpha, hm?" That was the only thing she said as she stared daggers at me, forcing my gaze to shift upwards to her. The two of us had happened to lock eyes for a brief moment before she turned over, stretching her own wings off and flying off to who-knows-where.

Shit.

"You know, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous of the relationship you and Cloudjumper share, mom,"

Hiccup's voice brought me out of my thought process as my head lifted upwards, as my gaze caught onto Valka's gaze shifting over to meet his, a little smile forming over her lips.

"Oh, there's nothing to be jealous of, Hiccup," She replied with a gentle chuckle, her hand reaching upwards as her fingers gently massaged my chin. I purred at the sensation, my own smile slightly widening. "The two of us have had a strong bond for many years, that allowed us to communicate so well."

"I know, just," He said with a soft sigh, shaking his head. "I meant I'm jealous because Toothless and I haven't managed to form a strong bond. A bond to a point where we can... practically communicate without issue."

"Do not worry Hiccup," Valka's tone was kept calm yet motherly as she retracted her hand from my chin, setting it along her hip. "I guarantee that within the next 10 to 12 years, you and Toothless may share a bond that's just as strong as me and Cloudjumper's."

Even the mention of Toothless was able to throw me off guard, regardless of the context. Was I really coming to the point where I was growing more attached to him as time passed on? Because the slightest mention of him makes me remember my failed courting attempt.

"I hope you're right," Hiccup's tone was laced with hope, which made me sigh in satisfaction as I nudged at Valka's arm, hinting that I was ready to begin the patrol. She nodded in response before leading me out of the house, Hiccup following behind us.

"We'll try to be as fast as we can son," Valka informed him as she tapped onto one of my wings twice, which notified me to lower down and allowed her to climb upwards to properly position herself on top of me. "If we don't return by sundown, you can use that opportunity to send a party after us."

"I'll keep that in mind," Hiccup nodded as I began to spread my wings out, a slight rumble creeping up my vocal cords. "Be safe, both of you."

I didn't need further reassurance as I pushed myself off the ground, my wings spreading and pushing downwards to steady my flight pattern as we ascended from the isle, the designated route embedded into my mind.

Hopefully, nothing goes wrong.

Luck was on my side for once.

Within the patrol the two of us engaged in, there happened to be little to any issue. We ran into a Sand Wraith on the shore of one of the remote islands, and that lead to a rather interesting conversation about the two of our pasts and how we ended up here. Soon, we parted ways after I informed him that he was welcome to Berk.

"Cloudjumper," Valka's tone caught my attention as I gave a slight coo upwards to her to inform her that I was listening. "I can tell from how you're acting, that there happens to be something on your mind."

I cursed mentally. I wasn't surprised that Valka had found out about my absence, it was the fact that she chose to mention it now that ticked me off. I couldn't be mad at her though, she knew... probably everything.

"Now, let me begin with that I'm not capable of entirely communicating with you as if I spoke Dragonese," She began, and judging off how she was talking, I was reassured that she wasn't upset with me. That was what I needed for my nerves to lower. "But I want to tell you that regardless, I still care for you and I want the best for you."

The way she talked made me feel at ease, her motherly tone wasn't common when the two of us talked, but whenever she did, it was able to calm my nerves. In response, I cooed up at her again, unable to hide the smile forming on my lips.

"I know, I sound like your parent," She chuckled down at me before dropping down to a knee to caress my back. "I'll quit my yapping, let's get back in case Hiccup needs help with the village." I didn't need further encouragement as I dove downwards towards the isle.

I cautiously extended my wings out to ensure that I was gliding, slowly lowering down closer and closer to the ground until I brought myself to halt, landing on the soft grass below just outside of the Meade Hall.

Upon landing, Valka slowly navigated herself off my wing before taking a short glance at me, giving me a smile, and nodding her head to me. I nodded back in response, before following her inside the Hall.

Upon entering, my gaze shifted around the entire place, seeing that the hall was more packed than it usually was any other day, which stirred a bit of confusion. Was there a special occasion that I had apparently missed?

Of course, looking to my left, I was able to see Hiccup struggling with answering the many questions of the vikings, which caused a chuckle to slip from Valka before she made her way over to assist him.

Glancing over to my right now, that's where I was able to point out Stormfly with a few other dragons, ones that I hadn't recognized during my time in Berk. Maybe I could've introduced myself.

Yet, one shift of my gaze and I could perfectly see Toothless and Hookfang, the two talking about something that caused Toothless to give a shy-like chuckle, as if he were flustered... The expression said it at least.

"The Joker and his King," My head tilted downwards as my eyes locked to Stormfly approaching me, a smile resting over her lips. All I did was nod my head in response with a gentle huff of air, shifting my view back to the duo.

"I'm not mad at you,"

"What?" My head turned back over to the nadder on my side, who looked to me before looking to Toothless and Hook. "What do you mean?"

"In the grass, with the alpha, I'm not mad at you for it," Her words made me mentally scoff, as there were many things that crossed my mind at that moment. "Trust me, you're not the only one that catches feelings for people."

"You sure this is the appropriate spot to talk about this?" I asked her, and she caught on swiftly after as she dipped her head low. "I apologize if that was abrupt, but just... not when they're both in the same room with us, we don't know how good Toothless can hear us."

"It's good, but he's distracted," My gaze glanced back over to the two, and I noticed Hookfang whisper something into his ear that caused the fury's emerald visage to meet mine. I swore at that moment he had heard something, judging from his expression.

I saw his curious expression shift into a joyful one, a smile creeping along his maw as he nodded his head in a... odd fashion, but I could tell that he was beckoning me to make my way over.

"Go say hi, we'll have this conversation another time," With that, Stormfly pushed herself away from me and separated from the area, leaving me conflicted about the choice to engage with Toothless or go home.

Fuck it.

With a fake smile, I approached the duo with a nod of my head, and I saw Hookfang's gaze dart straight to me with a bit of uneasiness, a look that made me twice as uncomfortable.

At first, I didn't really know what to say until Toothless noticed I was near, looking in my direction as a small smile formed on his lips. He nodded his head to me, which gave me the signal to do whatever I was about to do.

So as I brought myself to halt a few feet away from them, I cleared my throat and spoke up.

"I know that now might not be the right time," I knew I had both of their attention, judging off Hookfang's uneasy stare and the signature head tilt from Toothless. "But, I just want to mention that what happened on the beach shouldn't have happened."

Alpha's eyes shifted up to me with a slight glare, and that was enough to tell me that I can say more than what I just did.

"Hookfang," I began again, clearing my throat once again. "I understand that the two of us didn't get off on the right wing, I really mean it when I say that I misinterpreted your intention with the alpha... I don't mean to come off as a disruption to your relationship, all I want is to ensure that he is safe within Berk, just as I would with anyone else. If I knew that what happened with Toothless wasn't what I thought, I wouldn't have done anything."

His glare became less harsh, and I saw Hookfang's body relax, causing the tension to drop. I mentally cheered in my head, knowing that I was getting somewhere and somewhat loosening the barrier the Nightmare held.

"What I'm trying to say, in short, is that I'm sorry for what happened," I finally confessed, seeing Hookfang take a brief minute to ponder his thoughts as he looked down. Toothless glanced up at me with a proud smile, and I felt my heart warm.

As I waited for a response, I was sidetracked by the odd... aroma that filled my nostrils, temporarily stunning me. It was... familiar, a scent I had been familiar with for years... But strong, and constantly enticing.

And a certain part of my body had awoken.

"It's alright," Hookfang's voice was just what I needed for my gaze to turn, watching as his own met mine. "I... I understand what caused you to grow defensive. You weren't doing anything wrong, you were just protective and... I can't say I would've done anything different in your position."

My gaze slowly shifted to the side, where I was able to see Toothless shooting his mate - ugh, I hate that term - a proud smile before scooting closer, gently rubbing his head under his chin. The slight red flush from Hookfang's face told me all I need to know, and I only nodded my head.

Now, I was about to turn and leave the two be, until Hookfang leaned over and whispered something into Toothless' ear. It took him a minute to process before he embarrassingly looked away, letting out a nervous chuckle. I was about to question the duo, but the Nightmare had spoken up before me.

"We should get going," With his words, he pushed himself off and walked by me, shooting me a soft smile while moving away. "I appreciate your apology, Cloudjumper. Let's put this behind us."

I could only nod as he trotted away. Just before I could leave myself, I felt the alpha's body brush against me as a loud purr rumbled from his throat. The sound made me slightly tense up, yet that didn't stop me from leaning down and nuzzling him. In the process, that... scent returned, and it was stronger.

That was the final piece of the puzzle.

That aroma was emitting off Toothless.

"See you around," He teased me by bumping his hips against me, which I responded to with a slight chuckle. I watched him make his way to Hookfang by the doors of the Meade Hall, his hips swaying in a motion that made me purr at the sight.

When I glanced down, I could see the tip of my shaft slightly poking out my sheath, as I quickly swayed my tail over to cover that region while looking around the room, wondering if anyone was staring. But thankfully, it seemed like nobody had noticed.

An idea came into my head as I slowly moved over, my tail occupying that region as I carefully aimed for the exit.

It's gonna be a fun night with me and my tail.