Brothers Of Night

by toothlessgolfer

Hiccup and Toothless are reborn together after giving their lives on Dragon Island. They will learn, laugh, lose, find, grieve, and love throughout the adventure of their new lives; all culminating in why "There were dragons when I was a boy..." Dragon Hiccup, OCs, Astrid, Valka, Stoick. Three volumes. There are sequel stories set in this world.

11. I - Conflagration

"I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people." - Isaac Newton

---

Conflagration

---

They could both be very sneaky when they needed to be. Years of mischief-making had given them the skills to avoid being seen and to find exactly where the action was. There was also a simple pleasure of spying on someone which gave them enough of an excuse to actually work together on something. That something was a gathering at Mildew's hovel just after sundown.

That was not to say that they did not nag each other when they had the chance.

"Ugh, do you even bathe?" Ruff whispered while shoving Tuff aside to get a better look through the window.

"Yeah, of course."

"Since when?"

"Last month. Hey, why didn't you wash after cleaning the stables, you smell like dragon sh…"

"Shut it! Listen."

They went silent and focused more closely on the discussion occurring inside the hut. It was not easy to discern the individual voices since there seemed to be disagreement about something. They heard several indistinct words, such as 'fish', 'traps', and 'Chief.'

"So, they plan to do what?" Tuff whispered.

"Enough," Mildew slammed the floor with his staff and got the attention of all gathered. His raspy voice easily carried over the other noise.

"We cannot wait longer. This is too good of an opportunity. We start tomorrow."

At this, his entire gathering gave a cheer and clanged together their mugs to some unknown purpose.

Ruff and Tuff huddled together for a few moments below the windowsill.

"Say, sis, do you think we should tell Astrid that Mildew is planning something?"

"I guess. I kinda wish we knew what he was going to do."

"Well, we could sneak in after they finish their drinks."

She thought about it and certainly appreciated the danger in breaking into Mildew's house.

"Nah, let's just tell her. She can figure it out."

They tiptoed away from the window and the sinister laughter and dashed into the trees across from Mildew's field. Two pairs of faintly glowing eyes snaked up through the darkness to greet them.

"Hi Barf," Ruff greeted her half of the dragon as her brother did the same for his.

"Well Belch, we should probably go. Wouldn't want Mildew to make you into a rug."

---

Hiccup and Toothless were both tired from the day of activity in the cove and were taking naps in Hiccup's room. It gave her more time alone with her thoughts. It had been almost two weeks since Stoick left to go do something chiefly. With Stoick gone for the moment, she was not quite sure how she would be able to handle any serious 'incidents.'

Hopefully, that would not be an issue.

The first two weeks had passed relatively uneventfully. She brought a fish for Hiccup and Toothless in the morning, embarrassingly walked both of them to the outhouse around noon, and brought them another fish for dinner. The rest of her time was spent either with her Academy duties, flying with Stormfly, and talking with Hiccup, the last of which took a long time since Hiccup had to write out everything. But it was nice to not need to worry about Stoick walking in and finding out that she knew everything.

After checking on Hiccup one more time, she left the house and found her Stormfly patiently waiting outside the door in the darkness.

"Hi girl, do you want to go flying," she asked while gently rubbing Stormfly's muzzle. Night flights were rather relaxing since no one else could interrupt the peace.

Stormfly chittered and licked her lips.

"I guess that means you are hungry. Let's get you some fish."

They set off for the nearest feeding station and had only walked a few steps before they heard the unmistakable sound of wing-beats. It sounded like a Zippleback from her experience.

"Astrid, are you there?"

"Ruff, Tuff, what are you doing out there?"

"Well, right now we are definitely not spying on Mildew and trying to figure out what insidious plan he and his gang are cooking up in his hut. But we are sure that, whatever it is, it… will not taste good," Tuff replied while sticking his tongue out for emphasis.

"Huh? Norse Tuff, speak Norse," Astrid said in exasperation.

"Mildew is planning to do something tomorrow," Ruff answered while dismounting.

Great…

"Any idea at all what his plan is?"

"I don't know, but he has a lot of friends on his side."

She grimly nodded at Ruff's warning and began running through various scenarios in her mind. What might Mildew be planning? How brazen might he dare be? How many followers did he actually have?

Stormfly nuzzled her out of her thoughts.

"What are we going to do?" Tuff asked.

"We are going to keep our dragons close by tomorrow," she answered.

---

The day started normally for all of them. Astrid worked in the arena, introducing a couple of kids to some of the Terrors. Snotlout spent the morning herding fish for the fishermen. Fishlegs worked in the smithy assisting Gobber in building and repairing saddles and other leather works. The twins, per Astrid's request, were keeping watch on the village from above.

Around noon they all took the usual lunch break and gathered in the Hall after leaving their dragons outside at the nearest fish station.

"Hey, any of you think it is very quiet?" Ruff finally ventured.

"Yeah, too quiet…" Tuff followed-up most cryptically while wildly looking around the Hall.

Gods, they are so absurd. But he does have a point.

The Hall was rather empty for lunchtime. Several tables were completely empty.

"Where do you think everyone is?"

They looked around before Fishlegs noticed something.

"Uh guys, it's Mildew's group that is missing."

It was true. The tables that were empty were the ones at which Mildew and his company always sat.

"We should go," Astrid quickly spoke up as she stood from the table.

Not even the twins cared to fool around about this matter. The safety of their dragons was no laughing matter. Surprisingly though, nothing was amiss outside. All their dragons were clearly visible either munching on fish or just lounging about.

"What is he up to?" Astrid wondered out loud.

"If only one of them would just tell us what they are planning," Tuff added.

"Don't be stupid…er than normal, of course they won't tell us. We are like their worst enemies," Ruff rebuked him.

"I have a plan everyone," Astrid announced.

"Tomorrow we will follow them around without dragons. Ruff, Tuff, you two follow Mildew, Fish, you follow Ignis, Snotlout, you see if a group of them leave from the Hall together. Just try not to be noticed."

"What are you going to be doing?" Fishlegs asked.

"That is a secret."

She headed out from the Hall, leaving the rest of the riders wondering what exactly she had planned.

---

Sweat poured down his brow in the heat flowing from the furnace's fire. His hammer rose and fell rhythmically, beating the malleable iron into form. He grabbed his pliers with his good arm and held down one end of the thin bar with his prosthetic arm. He twisted the bar into a loop until there was less than a finger's depth between the ends. It had been a long time since he last complained about how long it now took him to forge even a single chain loop and he was not about to start now.

It was good hard work and was a very good way to pass the time.

Knock. Knock.

"Who is it?" he shouted back.

"Astrid."

Well, I could do with a break.

He set aside his equipment, cooled the fires, and left the inner forge. Sure enough, Astrid was waiting for him.

"Astrid, how are you lass?"

"We need to talk Gobber. In private."

"Spoken like a true Nord, right to the point. I like it. What is the matter?"

They walked over to his table where he dropped stuff he was working on, and they pulled up a pair of chairs.

"I'm worried about Mildew and his group. I think he is planning to do something."

"What do you mean, do something?"

"I don't know. Something to do with the dragons. I do know that he and his followers have been sneaking out together."

"That's hardly enough to accuse someone, Astrid."

"I know, that's why I'm talking to you. Something just doesn't feel right about the recent accidents the dragons have been having. For example, the Hall just happening to catch on fire even though no dragons were actually on the roof. The missing sheep but no one saw dragons around the field when they went missing. Even the storehouses being broken into, no one actually saw a dragon do it. They only found a couple footprints and a bit of dung. Those could be faked."

"Are you saying that he is responsible for all these things? Why would he? Just to cause trouble…"

"He promised that he would get rid of the dragons, one way or another. And no Gobber, I don't think he was just being boastful. I think he really means to do it. Why, I don't know, but what better time would there be for him to do something than now with Stoick gone?"

He rubbed his chin in thought. It was a fair point. If anyone was going to make a move against the peace, it would be now with the Chief away for a few weeks.

"Astrid, I see your point. Why are you telling me about this though?"

She grinned cunningly.

"Well, you are very respected in the tribe. Everyone remembers how well you fought in the past. If anyone would have a reason to hate dragons, you would certainly be one of them, what with your missing arm and leg. You might be able to get some information that we dragon friends could not get."

"So, you want me to spy for you."

"Yes Gobber, I do."

He leaned back in his chair, obviously deep in thought.

Beyond simply wanting the information, she was also testing Gobber to see whether he could be entrusted with the greatest secret she carried.

"Well, I must say that I have grown a bit fond of the beasties myself. I wouldn't want them thrown off the island or for things to return to the way they were. I think it's time I paid old Mildew and company a friendly visit."

He found it a bit surprising that she did not smile at his agreeing to help her cause. Instead, her eyes took on a far-away, strange look. But he did not say anything about it.

"Gobber, follow me. There is something I need to show you."

"You can go ahead and tell me now."

She stood up and turned to walk to the door.

"You need to see this for yourself or you will never believe me."

He rose as well with a pronounced shrug of his shoulders.

"I've seen some rather crazy things in my day. Remind me to tell you the story of my adventures with the Boneknapper."

"You have never seen anything like this Gobber," she replied softly.

Together, they walked the short distance to Stoick's house. Astrid put her hand on the door, but paused before entering.

"Gobber, do you promise to not tell anyone what you are about to see?"

That finally raised his suspicions. What could she be trying to hide?

"That depends on what it is."

She went ahead and entered with him right behind her. He looked around nervously, not knowing what to expect to be amiss. Nothing at all happened except that the two resident Night Fury fledglings tiptoed around the corner to investigate the stranger.

The sight of the two little dragons always brought a smile to his face and gave him a fuzzy feeling quite unbecoming a Nord warrior. This occasion was no exception.

"Hi there little guys."

One of the two huffed and turned away, but the other just stood there and stared at him. It did not look like it was begging for food or attention, instead it was just looking at him very intently.

It was suddenly rather unsettling.

The same questions that he had pondered before came back to him. The fledgling was behaving very oddly.

Just how smart are they?

"Hiccup," Astrid whispered.

Gobber was hardly surprised when the dragon's head instantly craned over to look at her. He was very confused though when he saw that she was placing a piece of paper and pencil on the table before her.

"Show him."

The dragon's posture immediately went from mostly relaxed to alert and nervous. Its tail began twitching as it looked back up at him with narrowed eyes. Then it looked down and exhaled deeply, as if it made its mind up about something.

He felt a tingling in his spine as the dragon walked across the floor while refusing to meet his gaze and hopped up onto the table.

No, surely it cannot…

But it did.

It picked up the pencil and sloppily wrote a name on the paper.

Gobber

He stared almost without seeing. A dragon that can write! It was impossible and went against everything he knew of the beasts, even now with the peace with them.

He closed his mouth which he only just realized had been hanging open in shock.

"He taught it to write? But how does it know my name?"

"Ask him."

He looked over at her in further amazement.

"You mean he understands us?"

Hiccup chirped once to get his attention and nodded while keeping his eyes fixed on him. Gobber rested his good hand against his own forehead while looking at the tabletop dragon.

"How do you know my name?"

I am Hiccup Haddock III

Gobber stared at the paper as a thousand thoughts swirled through his mind. And at the pencil clutched in the little dragon's left paw.

Hiccup had been left-handed.

Astrid's nervousness, Stoick's strange behavior since winter, and the dragon's inexplicable ability to write and understand humans all made impossible sense.

Hiccup died on Dragon Island.

But there was no body, and Stoick found the egg under unnatural circumstances to say the least.

Offspring of lightning and death...

"Hic…cup, you are alive?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed deeply while nodding.

Still a fishbone too

"Thor almighty! You still have your old humor too. But why are you a dragon?"

Hiccup bunched up his shoulders in a shrug.

Toothless might know

"Toothless, wait… is the other one your dragon? The one that rescued you and that you were flying with?"

Yes.

"And if he knows, how can you find out?"

Hiccup smiled happily again.

We can talk

"Talk, you mean talk like with words?"

I can talk with him

Gobber said nothing for the longest time. He just stood there, bracing himself against the table.

"I don't know what to think," Gobber gasped.

"Maybe be happy that he is actually alive?" Astrid offered.

"I am. I just don't…"

Gobber paused again. His eyes were glistening in a show of emotion that neither Astrid nor Hiccup had ever seen out of their old trainer. Then Gobber picked up Hiccup and hugged him. Hiccup did not especially like how he was being handled, but this was Gobber and he let him give him the hug.

"Hiccup! You are alive!"

He nodded from against Gobber's chest. Gobber sobbed once more and then put him back down on the table.

"Well, I've never heard of anything like this. Why did you say you are a dragon?"

Hiccup shrugged again.

"Right, need to ask the other dragon. Can they really talk?"

He can

He could remember many occasions when he had noticed the dragons in the arena rumbling and growling at each other. He had dismissed them as being simply the actions of dumb beasts. Now he had reason to question that assumption.

Had the dragons been lamenting to each other how poorly they were being treated? Talking about how close they had come to dying that day?

"You understand why Mildew needs to be stopped now, right?" Astrid said.

Gobber looked over at her.

"Because he would get rid of all the dragons. Maybe even hurt some of them," she said while nodding in Hiccup's direction.

It took a lot to get Gobber truly riled up, unlike many other villagers. The thought of Hiccup being hurt, or worse, was definitely one of them. He clenched his remaining good hand.

"I'll find out what he is doing, I promise."

Hiccup nodded happily.

"Oh and Gobber, don't let anyone know that you know."

"I won't Astrid. It's not like anyone would believe me if I told them. Just wait until Stoick hears…"

Astrid shook her head, and Gobber's expression fell very quickly as he understood.

"He already knows, right?"

"Yes, he didn't want Hiccup to tell anyone. Hiccup told me, and I wanted you to know. Don't tell Stoick or let him know that you know, or I will be in big trouble."

Gobber frowned. So Stoick knew that Hiccup was actually alive but hadn't told him about it. Hadn't told anyone for that matter. The strange expressions that Stoick had shown over the last few months made more sense. He had assumed that they were the result of the pain of losing his only son. How hard must it have been for Stoick to know that his dead son was actually alive as a dragon and to keep this secret from the entire village?

It deeply hurt that his old friend hadn't entrusted him with this strange but also amazing news.

Why didn't he tell me at least?

"I understand Astrid. I won't tell anyone."

He knelt down on his knees so that he could look at Hiccup from the same level.

"Hiccup, we all looked for you after what happened on Dragon Island. We found a very strange place where it looked like the rock itself was melted. Your father had me take care of a dragon egg he found on this island. I had no idea…"

Hiccup somehow managed to look sheepish in response to this new information. Astrid was also interested to learn this since no one really talked about what had happened inside the mist on that island.

Thank you Gobber

Gobber got to his feet and waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh, don't mention it. Well, I'm going to go to the Hall and get something to eat. Maybe I could bring something back for you Hiccup."

He paused and rubbed his chin in confusion.

"Uh Hiccup, what do you eat?"

"Basically only fish and fish stews," Astrid responded, and Hiccup nodded in agreement.

Chicken or bread

Would be good

"Well, I will see what I can do. And Astrid," his expression became slightly grimmer as he turned to face her, "I'll find out what they are up to."

He turned and left for the Hall not a moment later.

"I hope so," Astrid whispered to herself.

---

Gobber entered the Hall and filled his plate with chicken, whatever the stew was that was being served, and half a loaf of bread. He then wandered the Hall, looking for someone who he recognized from Mildew's company.

Seeing no one, he sat down anyway and began to slowly munch on the food. He had plenty of time to think about what had just happened.

Not in the wildest stories he had ever heard had someone been reborn as a dragon. Something very strange had happened on Dragon Island.

Magic? Maybe the gods did this. Thor because of lightning? Loki?

"Oh well, it happened anyway, just have to live with it. Better than the alternative I guess," he finally broke his silence.

The door to the Hall opened and a small crowd of hungry men shoved their way inside. Included in the crowd, he recognized Edric Fenrisbane, a simple farmer whom he recognized from the crowd that seemed to assemble around Mildew. Edric was a simple man, and it should not be too difficult to get him to spill some secrets. He went over and greeted the man.

"Edric, my friend. We haven't spoken in… forever. How have you been?"

"Gobber, good to see you too. Quite a meal you have there," he said gesturing at the plate.

"Ah, long day in the Smithy so far. Working hard you know. What have you been doing?"

Gobber gestured toward his place and grabbed a couple mugs of mead. Edric seemed a bit more uncertain how to respond when he got back and handed over one of the mugs.

"Well, I'm not really supposed to say since you aren't one of us."

Gobber had no problem guessing who the 'us' was supposed to be.

"What if I actually wanted to be one of you?"

"Huh?"

"Look at me Edric, I'm missing an arm and a leg because of the dragons. I remember what the raids were like. And," he lowered his voice further in a conspiratorial whisper, "I only want what is best for Berk."

Edric seemed somewhat reassured by this.

"And you really want to join us?"

"Of course I do. But first, I want to see that you really mean it. How about you show me what you all are doing."

"Well ok, I should probably check with the boss first."

"Oh, there is no need for that. Think about it, you can go to your boss and tell him that you managed to get Gobber to join. I might be able to help change the Chief's mind eventually. But I need to see what you all are actually up to before I want to join."

Edric thought about this for a moment, weighing his options.

"Ok Gobber, deal. I'll show you right after this," he said while gesturing at his plate.

They clasped forearms to seal the deal and returned to their meals.

Gobber would have felt guilty about taking advantage of this simple man so, but his discovery of Hiccup's situation gave him more than enough reason to do exactly that.

They both ate the rest of their meals very quickly though Gobber subtly saved a bit of chicken and bread.

"Let's go."

They both exited the Hall together and without any other company.

"Alright Edric, where are we headed?"

"The forest."

"The forest, really? Not up to Mildew's hut?"

"Oh, nothing is up there. The dragon-loving brats would probably break in and check there. We have everything in the forest."

"Fascinating," Gobber mumbled to himself.

"Where is the rest of the group today?" he continued a moment later.

"Taking a day off since the Thorston twins and the Hoffer girl are watching us."

"Hmn, good idea. Very convenient."

They passed the final farm and walked into the forest. They started on trails which he recognized and eventually passed from old game trails to ones which were obviously newly formed.

Edric stopped him for no apparent reason at a small clearing.

"Alright Gobber, what do you see?"

He looked around and noticed nothing abnormal.

"Uh, nothing."

"Exactly what a dumb dragon would see too. Look there," he said while pointing toward the low-hanging branches of a pine tree.

Gobber looked more closely and saw a small platform hanging upside down with metal spikes protruding from the device. A small rope went from the branches to back behind a dense patch of bushes.

"You all built a trap. How many do you have?"

Edric held up each of his fingers on both his hands in an attempt to count before grumbling and simply saying, "Many."

"Just imagine if there is a fish right there," he pointed to the side of the clearing underneath the branches, "and someone was waiting behind those bushes over there to trigger the trap. And this is nothing. Follow me."

Edric set out along another path, and Gobber followed after a backward glance at the seemingly-innocuous clearing.

He said nothing aloud of course, but he was very disturbed that these people had actually rebuilt the dragon traps. All the traps had been removed in the weeks after the return to Berk and the bringing of dragons into daily life on Berk. But, now that he thought about it, none of the traps were actually destroyed, only removed. It would have been too easy for one of the domesticated dragons or one of the wild ones which chose to avoid the village to stumble onto one of the traps.

Very few of the old traps had been designed to capture their victims alive.

They walked for about ten minutes when they came to a small campsite. The main tent contained an assortment of weapons, axes, and swords, as well as many different construction supplies. No doubt used to build the trap or traps that they had devised. There was also a fire pit around which it seemed that people frequently gathered.

"This is your main campsite, right?"

"Aye, this is where we keep our stuff. This was one of the best ideas Mildew had," he mentioned while pointing at a corner.

There was a very bizarre object sitting in the corner of the tent. It was like a prosthetic leg only with a dragon claw attached to the end.

"What is that for?"

"Footprints."

His eyes widened in understanding.

The storehouses weren't actually broken into! How dare they!

"Very clever, I see that you all really believe in this cause."

"Of course, the purpose of Pure Berk is favored by the gods. Mildew told us so. Come Gobber, there is something else you should see."

Gobber followed only because he wanted to get as much information as possible for when he would report to Stoick. What these men were doing under Mildew's command was blatant treason! They were preparing to undo everything that Stoick and Astrid had worked for this last year.

They walked deeper into the forest, slightly up the hill that eventually led to the central mountain of Berk.

Edric then surprised him by covering his nose with his shirt cloth and gesturing for him to do the same. They passed through more underbrush and came upon another clearing. A foul smell overcame them as soon as they did so. A smell of decay and rot. Of death.

Gobber gagged and only barely managed to keep his lunch down as he stared at the source of the smell.

The corpse of a dragon, a Nadder to be specific, lay on the ground in front of him. Many of its green scales had clearly been pried off. Its wings were ripped and hung out behind it in impossible directions. Its birdlike mouth was open and there were flies and maggots crawling around both the skull and the massive hole in its breast.

A hole that opened right onto where its heart used to be.

The sight of a dead dragon was hardly new to him, but it had never been so horrifying before. For one, his people had always disposed of the corpses before they could start to stink. Was it the fact that this dragon may have eaten from the feeding stations that the village provided and then been killed by people of the same village? Was it the pointless cruelty that had been inflicted on the creature?

"How did you… get it?"

"It just came right up to us like it expected food. It was too easy."

Gobber looked on in complete disgust at Edric's apparent fascination with Pure Berk's apparent first kill. It was all he could do to prevent himself from strangling Edric right then and there. He managed to restrain himself in part because he knew that Mildew was the one responsible for everything that was happening. But everyone else had obeyed him, making them complicit in the action even if they were just following orders.

They turned away and walked back down the hill and toward the campsite.

"So Gobber, what do you think?"

"I think," he finally replied as they both set off for the village again, "that you are certainly more committed than I thought you were. How about you come over to my house for some mead as a way of showing my appreciation. I've got a new barrel."

Edric agreed wholeheartedly.

With any luck, after the sixth or seventh mug he will not remember anything about the entire tour.

When Edric and Gobber raised their first mug together in honor of 'Berk's Future', they had very different visions in mind.

Edric left over an hour later, not quite knowing exactly where he was, what he was doing, or who he was for that matter. Gobber saw him to the door and pointed in the general direction where he thought Edric lived.

Only when he was gone and the door shut did Gobber finally feel free to drop the mask he had been wearing. He slammed his fist down on the table so hard that he heard cracks in the legs of the table.

"Damn that old man! Damn Mildew."

Try as he might, Gobber couldn't shake off the feeling that the Nadder's empty eye sockets had been staring at him in accusation. That he should have seen the signs sooner and realized that Mildew was planning mutiny and a slaughter. A slaughter that was sure to extend to Hiccup as well if Mildew got his way.

He would sooner die than let that happen.

Astrid had to be told about this as soon as possible.

Where is she? Probably at Stoick's with Hiccup. Plus, I could give Hiccup the food I brought for him.

He set out for Stoick's house at once.

"Astrid, are you there?" he knocked on the door.

A faint shuffling came from inside, but no reply. He pushed open the door and saw only one of the Night Furies on the floor. It stared up at him in clear recognition.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup nodded up at him.

"I wasn't sure if it was you. You look just like Toothless."

Hiccup hopped up onto the table.

I am smaller

"Oh, ok. I brought you some chicken and bread," he said as he took the food wrapped in a cloth.

Hiccup's eyes went wide and his tongue drooped out of his mouth as he stared at the cold chicken and bread on the plate.

"It's a bit cold but now…"

He stopped talking when Hiccup attacked the chunks of chicken, tearing off pieces and swallowing them whole. The strangest thing to him was seeing Hiccup's teeth.

Even though they were quite small, they looked very sharp. Like curved spears.

But he could have sworn they hadn't been there earlier.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup paused and looked up at him.

"I could have sworn you didn't have teeth."

Hiccup looked puzzled for a moment and then rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth again, clearly showing all his sharp teeth.

Gobber blinked in amazement when Hiccup worked his jaw and his teeth slid back into his gums. Hiccup then looked at him very sheepishly.

"By Loki, I've seen everything now. A dragon with retractable teeth who used to be my apprentice."

Toothless chose that moment to stroll into the kitchen. He sniffed and perked up at what he smelled.

Gobber stood completely speechless as Hiccup tiptoed over to the edge of the table and began rumbling at Toothless. And Toothless responded by doing the same.

Well, I guess they can talk after all.

After 'talking' for a few moments, Toothless hopped up on the table as well and began gobbling down the remaining chicken as well after eyeing it for a moment.

"Hiccup, do you know where Astrid went?"

Hiccup shook his head.

"Ok, I'll go find her."

He turned to leave, then stopped at the door and turned around.

"And Hiccup, don't leave the house."

---

Hiccup was beyond frustrated by this point and huffed his frustration after Gobber left.

Everyone was telling him that he had to stay inside and hidden. What could really be happening out there?

There was absolutely nothing to do in the house. He had already practiced writing so much that he could already write as well as any of the villagers. He had already inspected the few scrolls his dad had left lying around before he left. Sleeping was unnecessary. He had slept a lot over the winter, but didn't feel as much need to do so now in the summer.

He wanted to be exploring, to be active even if Gobber said not to.

"Toothless, we do thing."

"What?" Toothless looked up at him with a chunk of chicken hanging from his mouth.

He bounced around on his feet before replying.

"We do thing. Not sleep. Not do no thing!"

Toothless thought about what to do while gulping down the last of the ground-bird. There was one thing that he could do with Hiccup, but Hiccup had already said he wasn't interested in learning flight. He couldn't understand Hiccup's reasons.

Maybe it was just being in the home cave that was the problem. He remembered how restless he had gotten the new-warmth-life-season after he had first hatched. He had wanted to roam outside, hunt fish in the stream, and stretch his wings.

Maybe it would do Hiccup some good to be out of the cave-den now too. They had both enjoyed their few excursions outside the den already.

"We walk out of cave, play."

Hiccup thought a bit more and then gave a mischievous grin.

"Yes, we go out and play."

Toothless hopped around in excitement. Hiccup actually wanted to play with him! Both of them jumped down to the ground, ran to the door, and were defeated by the door.

Gobber had shut the door behind him when he left. Hiccup growled in frustration.

Great, we are trapped in here. Unless…

There had to be a way out.

He looked around the house, trying to figure out how he could get them out of the house since he was not able to open the door.

Maybe my window.

He ran down the hall to his room and nudged the door open. He hopped up on the bed and stood on the windowsill. The window opened from the inside and all he had to do was lift the latch to unlock the window.

He wiggled a claw under the latch while Toothless watched in curiosity.

The latch clicked, and he was able to push the window open. The afternoon sunlight was glorious, and he was able to look out over the entire village. Dozens of people, many of whom Hiccup recognized, were visible going about their daily chores. The only problem was that it was a bit of a distance from the window to the ground. He used to be able to climb down.

But now he physically couldn't do it.

Ok, how am I going to do this?

He was still wondering this when Toothless jumped from the window, spread his wings, and glided down to the ground. Actually, it was more that he flapped once and fell with style, but it was effective enough.

Oh, right. Dragons have wings.

Standing there on the ledge, Hiccup began to feel very unsure of himself. He had never tried to fly or even glide before. He had no idea how to do it.

He held his wings out as well as he could and took a deep breath before jumping and immediately flapping down as hard as he could. It only sent him tumbling end over end as he fell.

He screamed in fear, sure that he was about to die.

Something leathery and bulky crashed into him just as he was about to hit the ground. He rolled on the ground down the slight hill that his house was built on until he flopped down on his back and stared up at the sky.

Hiccup took several deep breaths and then noticed that Toothless was collapsed at the ground at his side, his chest heaving as well. Toothless had caught him, or at least had braced his fall.

Toothless turned to look at him after they both righted themselves.

"Use your wings, Hiccup."

Hiccup stretched his wings and sighed.

"Yes, Toothless, I need learn. You help me."

Toothless smirked and turned around, whacking Hiccup in the head with his tail before running off toward the woods.

Hiccup gave his best attempt at a roar and charged after Toothless, determined to get his revenge and thankful to be out of his confinement.

---

Gobber managed to track Astrid down outside the training ring. He had gone straight to her and told her everything that he had seen. She had blanched when he mentioned the rotting corpse in the woods, likely because of how close to home it hit her. She thanked Gobber and immediately had the rest of the youths gather together in the ring.

"Why are we here again?" Tuffnut wondered.

"Because Astrid is going to tell us what she knows about Mildew's sinister plan," Ruffnut answered.

"Oh, right…"

Fishlegs finally arrived after being excused from his duties and seeing that his dragon was occupied.

"Hi everyone," he greeted them.

"So Astrid," Snotlout interjected, "what is the problem?"

"Gobber found out what Mildew and his group has been up to. They have been rebuilding the dragon traps in the woods."

Fishlegs gasped.

"But… Astrid, those traps were lethal."

"Yes Fish, Gobber said they have already killed a dragon, and he thinks they would do it again."

She paused to let that sink in and the effect was immediate. The twins' carefree smirking ceased and even Snotlout's natural haughtiness was subdued.

"What are we going to do about it?" Fishlegs asked.

"I have an idea, but it will be dangerous and it won't be pleasant for us."

"If it helps the dragons, I am in," Fishlegs firmly stated.

"Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff?"

They nodded their assent.

"Ok, here is what we are going to do. We are going to sneak out at night and destroy their traps. And make sure that everyone who is a dragon-friend knows what is happening. If one of our dragons were to be caught in a trap…"

She did not need to finish the thought for the rest of the group to envision how terrible that would be. She finished giving instructions to each of them and then they dispersed to back to the normal duties of the day, at least until night when their real work would begin.

As soon as they were gone, she sought out Stormfly. Hearing about the murdered Nadder made her feel very protective of her dragon. Plus, she had a break before she was expected back in the Academy.

"Hi girl, did you miss me?" she asked while rubbing Stormfly's jaw, much to the dragon's satisfaction. Still, Stormfly nudged her in the shoulder in the way that always indicated wanting attention.

"What do you want girl?"

Stormfly chittered and flapped her wings.

"Oh, I know what you want. Let's go."

She hopped on Stormfly's back and they were aloft moments later. Astrid wanted a moment to herself and her dragon, some time away from the frustrations of the village below. As she looked down at the forest of Berk, she could not help but feel that something major was going to happen soon.

We just have to wait until Stoick gets back. Then we can show him, and he will have to do something.

What would that something be? Would it be enough to talk to Mildew? Nords being what they were, that was very unlikely.

"Don't worry girl, I'll keep you safe," she murmured while scratching Stormfly's neck. They flew peacefully for nearly an hour.

Then she saw smoke rising from the village.

Oh gods, what now?

She guided Stormfly back into the village just as flames began rising in earnest from one of the storerooms. The entire building was burning from the inside.

"Alright girl, you know what to do," she pointed at the fire. Stormfly evidently remembered that bit of training and immediately flew toward the docks where she picked up a bucket in her claws, dipped it in the ocean, and flew back to the fire.

There was total mayhem by the time she got back. People were screaming at each other and waving their weapons around. Dragons were growling at people and crowding around their respective humans. None of the other fire response teams seemed to be in the air.

It was far too late to save the building, the small amount of water that Stormfly dropped on the fire did nothing to quench the flames. Some of the villagers were running in and out of the structure to save some supplies, but there was not much that could be saved.

She landed outside the gathering and was immediately approached by Snotlout. He looked absolutely livid about something.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"They," he roared while pointing at a group in the yelling crowd, "are saying that Hookedfang burned down the storehouse!"

Oh great…

"Stay here with Hookedfang."

Snotlout moved over to calm his dragon.

She squared her shoulders and pushed her way to the fore of the crowd.

"What is going on here!"

Her voice carried over the din and got everyone's immediate attention. There was a moment of quiet before several of them started talking at once.

"His beast burned down the building!"

"Hookedfang wouldn't do that," she replied to them.

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

She recognized most of the group that was complaining as being Mildew's people. And she also clearly saw that they all had weapons drawn.

Stormfly, Hookedfang, and Blueback, Finnbjorn and Katrina's Nadder, were shifting anxiously next to their humans; the sight of drawn weapons clearly was something they remembered.

"I don't believe it. There is no reason why Hookedfang would burn down one of our buildings," Katrina spoke up.

Astrid was very happy that someone else was willing to speak out against the crowd. Even if that left the dragon defenders still in the minority.

"What is happening?" a silky voice called out from behind the crowd.

Of course…

Mildew pushed his way through the crowd and looked around the gathering. He seemed to be the only calm and collected person present.

He is planning something here, I know it.

"Well now, here I was just tending the sheep when I heard a terrible noise. I came down here to see what was happening and I see all of you shouting at each other. What is going on here, Astrid?"

She scowled and crossed her arms.

"I think we both know what is happening, Mildew. These men here are saying that Hookedfang burned down the storehouse."

Mildew pointedly stared at the smoldering ruins and looked oddly thoughtful.

"We wouldn't want to wrongly accuse one of our beasties, now would we men?"

They looked around at each other, apparently in confusion, before mumbling that of course they wouldn't want to do that.

Astrid didn't believe it for a moment.

"Well, let's go take a look and see what really happened."

Mildew and the rest of the group walked over to the ruins and looked at the ground. She knew exactly what they were looking at because of what Gobber had told her.

"Nightmare footprints. That answers that," Mildew proudly declared, "the beast did do it."

Astrid snapped. She had been bearing with Mildew's frivolous accusations and fearmongering for far too long. But now he had framed one of their own dragons.

"Mildew, we know that you did this! You put those footprints in the ground! You are a liar!"

Mildew glared at her with pure venom. No one had ever directly called him a liar in front of the entire village.

The two camps stood opposed to each other; Mildew and his company on one side and the dragon-friends and their dragons on the other. While Mildew's group was larger, they did not particularly want to fight the dragons on the other side.

Mildew eventually dropped his scowl and walked right up to Astrid with an obviously false smile. He dropped his voice to a whisper.

"Watch your back, little girl. You might find a knife in it."

He then turned around and left the square. His crowd dispersed as well, though with many backward glances.

Astrid looked around the town at the ruins of the storehouse and the nervous assembly of humans and dragons.

You better get back soon, Chief.

---

They had to have chased each other across half of Berk by now.

Where are you Toothless?

Hiccup stalked along the path Toothless had taken. It was not hard to follow because Toothless had a very distinct smell. That smell ran directly along this small game trail and up the slope of the mountain.

Then it just stopped as if Toothless had vanished. Every one of Hiccup's senses were tingling with excitement and anticipation.

Ok, think like Toothless. Think like a dragon. Where would I hide?

A branch snapped directly behind him.

Oh great…

Toothless pounced from behind and clamped his jaws over Hiccup's tail, refusing to let go no matter how much Hiccup thrashed about. Hiccup finally collapsed limp. Yet another defeat at Toothless's jaws.

"You win Toothless."

Toothless let him go.

"How you so quiet?"

"Much time and hunting."

Toothless grinned and rumbled happily.

"Come Hiccup, I will show you something."

Toothless bounded off further up the mountainside and Hiccup followed. He was so glad to finally be outside for a long time. They bounded from rock to rock and continued higher until Hiccup started feeling very sore.

Toothless finally stopped next to a ledge and Hiccup panted heavily in exhaustion.

"Toothless… why here?"

Toothless bounded over to an outcropping and sat down to look out over the ledge. Hiccup joined him and was absolutely stunned.

The entire vista of Berk was spread out before him. The deep green forest they had run through. Raven Point. The tiny stream that flowed down the slopes of Mount Thor. The village of Berk and its port with all the sloops. The ocean which stretched from horizon to horizon.

A soft, warm breeze ruffled his wings, bringing him back to reality. He looked over at Toothless and saw that Toothless was perched right on the edge, his eyes closed and wings spread falcon-like.

Was he going to jump?

"Toothless?"

Toothless opened his eyes and looked at him.

"You fly now?"

"No Hiccup, not now. But I want to."

They stayed there a while longer before Hiccup suggest that they go back into town for food. They slowly started back down the hillside.

"Toothless, where you live before?"

"Before when?"

"Before I found you. When kin and two-legs fight. You live on bad Monster place?"

"No, I have cave-nest here."

"We go there?"

"Not walk to place. Need to fly."

They continued on through the forest. Hiccup kept thinking about the need to fly. He knew that he was just hindering himself by not learning. Being ground-bound limited where he could go and what he could do.

It just seemed so strange to him. Flying with Toothless had given him some of the best moments of his life. Actually being the one doing the flying under his own power was an entirely different matter and seemed a line that he didn't want to cross.

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't notice Toothless suddenly stop and look around in suspicion.

Something felt wrong to Toothless. It was only a moment later that he realized what the problem was.

It is too quiet…

Everything was being quiet out of fear. Then he caught the scent of two-legs.

"Hiccup," he softly hissed.

Hiccup stopped and turned to look at him, but by then it was too late.

A weighted net fell from the above the path directly on top of Hiccup at the same time as several men hopped out of hiding with battle cries.

Toothless quickly hopped backwards into the bush where he was completely hidden.

Hiccup stood motionless, as if in shock or surprise at having a net thrown on him. He began to thrash about, trying to get out of the net but only succeeded in getting more tangled.

"Look at it, it's one of the Chief's beasts," one of the men spoke up.

"Yeah, what do we do? Kill it like that Nadder?"

Hiccup froze and he felt a twist in his gut.

They killed a dragon! No, they couldn't have!

"Bag it, we'll take it to the boss and see what he wants to do."

One of the men pulled out a bag and a couple of them began to untangle their catch from the net.

Toothless bristled as he saw the creatures roughly grab Hiccup and dangle him upside down before shoving him into the bag. They then turned away and began to walk into the forest.

There was nothing that he could do to help Hiccup. He was too small. If he had been his full grown size, these bad two-legs would not be alive right now.

He slowly crept from his bush and followed the men, creeping from bush to bush. Not that he was especially worried about the two-legs finding him. They were being very loud and two-legs had terrible awareness of their surroundings.

He was going to find where they were keeping Hiccup and then…

Toothless grumbled at realizing that he still wouldn't be able to do anything alone.

---

Hiccup wasn't sure how long he was in the bag with all his limbs in a crumpled mess. It could have been a couple minutes or as much as an hour. Despite all the strange things that had happened to him and all the poor treatment he had once endured, being shoved face-first into a bag was not one of them.

There was no telling where he was. Some places on the island had very distinctive smells which were easy to recognize, but he could not smell anything at all past the foul smell of old small game like rabbit.

The man finally stopped, and Hiccup could hear some indistinct muttering around him.

"Boss."

"What Gregor?"

His bag was lifted high.

"We caught one of the Chief's," he spat on the ground, "black beasts."

The bag was dropped on the rocky ground.

Hiccup hit the ground with a forearm pinned underneath him at an awkward angle. A flash of fire shot up his arm and made him yelp in pain. He pushed himself off his injured arm as well as he could and gritted his teeth against the throbbing.

The top of the bag was undone and a hand reached in. And Hiccup felt a deep, fierce desire to bite the hand, to draw blood, to cause real pain to this man who hurt him. Suddenly, the hand disappeared. The man must have thought the better of it.

That was when, even though the pain he was feeling, Hiccup realized that he had been growling. He hadn't consciously planned it, but he had done so instinctively.

Someone picked up the bag again and tipped it upside down while shaking it. He fell onto the ground.

Several men were staring down at him, most of their expressions being of loathing. He wanted nothing more than to run away and hide, but he was immediately picked up and held by the neck. At least the man wasn't trying to choke him.

Mildew was standing right next to him and looking disturbingly thoughtful.

"This will be useful. It will be easy to play Astrid now. And when she is gone…"

"So we need this thing alive?" Gregor asked.

"Yes," Mildew replied.

Gregor used his free hand to pull out one of Hiccup's wings and grasped it firmly. Hiccup somehow knew what Gregor was thinking and it absolutely terrified him. He whimpered in the man's grip.

"And I shouldn't…"

"No Gregor, not this time. Just put it back in the bag and make sure it can't get out."

Hiccup was roughly shoved back in the bag a moment later and left alone as the gathering began to disperse.

He… wanted to break my wings…

It was one of the most horrifying things he could imagine. A dragon that could not fly was not a true dragon.

Why? Why would someone want to be so cruel?

It made no sense to him. Even for someone who did not especially like dragons, it would be better to just leave them alone. He curled up into a tight ball, still cradling his sore arm, and tucked his head under a wing, very grateful that his wing was still in one piece. It was a small comfort. All he could do now was wait and hope for a chance to escape.

---

Things seemed to have generally settled down since the heated dispute earlier in the day. She had spent a couple of relaxing hours in the training arena with Stormfly and some of the children. The young ones were terribly eager to get their own dragon one day, but frequently needed to be reminded to be respectful of the creatures. It was normal to have them start out with a Terror to show how responsible they were. Stormfly was very patient with them, for which she was very thankful.

Finally, her day began to draw to a close. There was one more duty she had though and she set off for Stoick's house, a fish in hand, after leaving Stormfly with the other dragons.

"Hiccup, I brought dinner."

She continued on into the kitchen and got ready to begin filleting the fish, as was the routine she had fallen into over the last couple weeks.

Neither Hiccup nor Toothless came bounding down the hall to greet her.

Are they napping?

She walked into Hiccup's bedroom and noticed that there were no napping dragonets in the nest-like blankets.

"Hmn, odd. Where are..."

Then she noticed the opened window.

"Oh no!"

Leave it to Hiccup to figure out how to open the window even as a small dragon.

"Why would you go out there?"

She was going to have to find the two little Furies or wait for them to come back. She was not especially eager to go back to the Great Hall for dinner because of who she might encounter there.

Astrid left and set off for her home where there would be some soup waiting for her. She was halfway home when she saw one of the Night Furies wandering in her direction.

Well, where there is one there is the other. Are you Hiccup or Toothless?

As long as the two were next to each other, she had no trouble telling them apart since Hiccup was slightly smaller.

The dragon saw her and immediately started running toward her. It stopped in front of her, panting heavily, and looked up at her.

Astrid could tell that he was terrified and exhausted. He also wasn't trying to write.

"Toothless?"

Toothless blinked in recognition. He turned and began growling at the village, then he turned back to her and rumbled pitifully.

She realized that Toothless was trying to tell her something. A real dragon was trying to talk to her in his own way.

"Get Hiccup."

Toothless whimpered as soon as she said Hiccup's name. Astrid felt a tingling feeling down her spine. Something felt very wrong.

"Toothless, where is Hiccup?"

Toothless swung around and growled at the village again. Then he turned and stared at the forest.

She could only remember Toothless growling at one person, at least little Toothless. Mildew's camp was in the forest. The terrible realization hit her.

"Mildew has Hiccup!"

Toothless realized that he had gotten his point across and turned back to the forest. He gave a sad warble and bounded toward the trees. Then he stopped and turned to stare at her upon seeing that she hadn't followed.

"You want me to come… wait, you know where Hiccup is?"

Toothless just barked at the forest again.

It would not be safe for her to go alone. Mildew's group would not take kindly to her finding them alone.

I can't go in there alone… I can get Gobber to help me.

"Come Toothless."

Toothless grumbled and reluctantly followed her.

Astrid couldn't help but wonder as she walked through the village. How many times had Hiccup walked through this village and been teased? At least no one had tried to kill him back then.

She walked into the forge without knocking.

"Gobber!"

He walked around the corner, covered in sweat and looking quite confused.

"Astrid, why are you here?"

"We have a problem, Gobber."

"Eh, great. We certainly need more of those. What is it?"

"I think Mildew's group has Hiccup."

Gobber's mouth fell open and he stared dumbly.

"Why do you think that?"

"Toothless sort of told me."

"What?"

"And both of them got out of the house through a window. I only found Toothless."

Gobber briefly glanced at the obviously-impatient Fury at her feet. Then he groaned.

"Why didn't he listen to me! I told him to stay inside!"

"We have to help him."

"Yes, we do. If they see me helping you, they won't let me know anything else."

"I don't think it will matter. We already know what they have done. They are escalating. We just need to wait until Stoick gets back. When he finds out what Mildew has been doing, what do you think Stoick will do?"

Gobber's expression turned quite dark.

"It will not be good for Mildew. Let's go. Just us."

They turned to leave the forge. Gobber paused before leaving the building and grabbed something. He, Astrid, and a restless Night Fury set out for the forest, the two humans closely following the young dragon. The motley gathering garnered more than a few strange looks as it passed.

---

It was not hard to find the trail. He simply had to find the smell of two-legs and follow it. None of the good two-legs would have a reason to be in this part of the forest.

Astrid and the one-arm fake-paw male were following behind him. That was good since they would certainly help him rescue Hiccup. And they could do the things that he couldn't do since he didn't have the fingers of a two-leg.

The sound of footsteps ahead was clearly audible to him.

He softly warbled to get his two-legs' attention and then hopped off the path. They understood his message and hid behind some bushes as the bad ones walked past. The two-legs were too busy yapping away at each other to notice that they were there.

He finally hopped out from hiding and continued on after making sure the path was clear. Eventually, he was back at the clearing where the two-legs had gathered. It looked like it was empty, but he kept close to the ground and crept along silently. He looked every which way for the trap-thing Hiccup was put in without seeing it.

Where is it?

He cautiously tiptoed into the clearing, every sense alert for a sign of danger. The two good two-legs followed behind him, wisely not calling out or making any noise.

There was no visible sign of Hiccup, but there was his distinctive smell.

He is here somewhere.

He hadn't yet looked inside the fur-cave where the two-legs probably kept more of their stuff. He walked over and poked his head through the entrance to the not-cave.

The bag was sitting on the ground right in front of his nose!

"Hiccup?" he hissed.

The bag stirred.

"Toothless?" he vaguely heard from inside.

"Wait, I get help."

He looked outside at his two-legs and barked to get their attention. They immediately ran over to him. Somehow the bag was stuck closed, and he couldn't get the entrance opened by gnawing on it.

He watched as Astrid began to work at the top of the bag.

---

Astrid was dumbfounded at the extent of the campsite. It especially looked like it had seen a lot of activity over the last few days. There were nets, ropes, and, most ominously, sharpened weapons everywhere. There was even a whole Gronkle skull impaled on a spear stuck in the ground.

She did not want to know where the skull had come from. Hopefully an old token of the past.

A chirp of noise got her attention and she looked toward the center of the campsite. Toothless was sticking his nose out the entrance of the main tent, obviously trying to get their attention.

"He found something."

She and Gobber wasted no time in running after him and entering the tent. Toothless began gnawing at a leather bag.

A wiggling leather bag.

"Hiccup!"

The bag went still, and she heard a plaintive whimper from within the bag. She immediately began untying the knot.

All the while, her anger at Mildew began building. He trapped a baby dragon and stuffed it into a small bag to do who knows what with. He killed an innocent dragon, according to Gobber. His group was stockpiling weapons and trapping gear out here in the forest where no one would think to look.

She undid the last knot and opened the bag. A Night Fury hatchling looked up her and blinked sadly.

"Oh Hiccup, I'm sorry," she whispered.

She slowly tipped the bag on its side so that he could right himself and walk out. He did, but very slowly. In fact, he was holding his left forearm completely off the ground and doing his best to walk on his other limbs.

"Hiccup, did they hurt you?" Gobber growled.

Hiccup hesitated for a moment before barely nodding without looking up to meet their eyes.

Pure anger poured through her veins.

I will hurt Mildew the next time I see him!

Without pausing to think about whether he wanted it, she reached down and picked up Hiccup as one would with an infant. She held him against her bosom while being mindful of his hurt arm.

"It's ok. You are safe now. We have you."

The moment she said this, she gasped as she felt a knife press into her back between her shoulder blades.

"And I have you!"

"Gregor, what in Thor's name are you thinking!" Gobber exclaimed in disbelief as he turned around and looked at the assailant.

"Either of you move and I kill her right now!"

"Ok, we won't move. What is happening here?" Gobber asked.

"I think we know what happened here. You broke into our camp to steal our catch."

"He is not 'your catch!'" Astrid protested.

"Oh yes, it is. You and your filthy dragon-lovers," he spat on her neck, "are talking about them as if they aren't just beasts!"

"Well, they aren't terrorizing children for sport. Unlike you," she snapped back.

Gregor ran his free hand along her neck while fingering the knife. She shivered in disgust and a hint of fear.

"Mildew just wanted to frame you and get you banished. With enough disasters being blamed on the dragons, the people would eventually demand that the Chief get rid of dragons. He never actually wanted anyone to get hurt. I don't think that I can let you go now, either of you."

"You are crazy, absolutely mad," Gobber growled with anger that neither Astrid, nor Hiccup had ever seen from him.

"Says one who consorts with devils and defiles what it means to be a Nord!"

"You heard what the Chief said, what it means to be a Nord can change," she countered.

"About that, we have been thinking that Berk might be needing a new Chief soon. Our current one has gone soft in his grief over his disgraceful bastard of a son."

"Treason," Gobber muttered.

"Call it what you will. I think our game ends now."

"Gregor, don't you dare!" Gobber warned.

"Don't worry Astrid, I'll be quick about it."

He kicked Astrid behind the knee, forcing her to the ground in pain. She still held Hiccup in her arms.

"And," he lowered his voice to whisper in her ear, "it would be a shame for such a fine body to go to waste. I think after you are dead I will…"

Toothless pounced from behind with a roar, sinking his tiny teeth deeply into the man's ankles. While nowhere near as impressive as when he was his full-size, his teeth were still very sharp and easily cut through to the bone.

The man yelled in pain and tried kicking to get his attacker off. Astrid slipped away from his clutches and backed away toward the tent entrance as well as she could. With one of Gregor's kicks, Toothless was sent flying through the air with a screech and crashed into the cloth side of the tent.

Gregor screamed in true agony as a hunk of flesh and muscle had been torn from his leg when he had kicked the dragon away. He rounded on Astrid and somehow managed a mad shuffle toward her, knife in hand.

Gobber moved to intercept him, they collided with a heavy grunt, and…

Gregor's eyes widened in shock as he looked down at the knife protruding from his chest. The same knife which Gobber pulled out a moment later before kicking the gasping man to the ground.

"You…"

Astrid had heard many terrible things in her life during the raids and training. Hearing a man choke on his own blood while trying futilely to take in a breath of air was easily the most disturbing thing she had ever heard.

He tried grabbing at her and at his chest. His struggle lasted a few more moments before the man's breaths completely ceased and the body went still.

"Astrid, we should get back," Gobber finally said.

"Gobber, what did we just… we just killed him!"

"I did what I had to do and I'd do it again!"

"Do we leave the… body here?" she finally asked.

"Good point. There is no real hiding this mess," he waved a hand at the steadily-growing pool of blood on the ground.

"Can you walk back home?"

She gingerly tried out her leg.

"Yes, I can."

"Ok, you take Hiccup back, and I'll figure something out here."

A small noise from the side of the tent startled them before they realized that it was just Toothless. He was coughing out the man's blood from the fight.

"Toothless?"

Toothless looked up at her.

"Thank you."

He grumbled up at her, but perhaps with a bit more patience than he usually did.

"Astrid."

"Gobber?"

"You should bar the door when you get home. Mildew will at least find out that Hiccup is gone and will probably try to do something while Stoick is still gone."

"I will. Will you let the other riders and dragon-friends know?"

"Yes, now get a move on."

She did and Toothless moved to flank her as she walked back into town right around dusk. The walk back was unbelievably quiet after what had just happened. Even Hiccup and Toothless, who were normally chatting away with each other, were completely silent. She went straight to Stoick's house and dropped Hiccup in the nest-bed. Toothless gladly joined him a moment later.

She mumbled to Hiccup that she was going to quickly carve some fish for him and Toothless, which she did, and she brought the chopped up fish on a plate which she left on the bed for them.

"Hiccup, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but please don't go outside until I get back. You heard what Gobber said might happen."

Hiccup nodded sullenly and collapsed back on the bed, apparently about to go to sleep. Astrid left the house a moment later.

---

It was now just him and Toothless.

Toothless could tell that Hiccup was very troubled. It made sense for someone who had just been caught in a trap, shoved into a trap, had one of his arms hurt, and had been present when a killing happened.

"Hiccup, are you good?"

"No Toothless, I am sad. Hurt arm. Hurt inside."

"Let me see your arm."

Hiccup carefully repositioned himself so he could show his hurting arm. Toothless inspected it. It didn't look broken to him. There was no outside hurt, though it did look a bit swollen to him.

He stuck out his tongue and licked Hiccup's arm. Hiccup flinched and grumbled in annoyance.

"Toothless, why?"

"Lick hurts. Mouth-water helps hurts."

Hiccup thought about that, for a moment forgetting his pain. He hadn't actually seen any dragons licking their wounds before, and he imagined that it probably would only help with external wounds.

But that Toothless had tried to help him did make him feel better.

"And hurt deep inside?"

Toothless rumbled, knowing there was almost nothing he could do to help with that. Nothing except curl up at Hiccup's side and drape a wing over his back. Hiccup gave a very brief hum of thanks before eventually nodding off to sleep.

Toothless remained awake, listening for any sign of danger. Even though he felt safe in this nest cave, he still kept his eyes open for a long time, listening for any sign of the bad two-legs who had dared to hurt Hiccup or would try to hurt him.

---

The next day started out normally enough with Terrible Terrors singing on the rooftops and people emerging from their homes and tents to get about their tasks.

Except for Astrid. She was not in the mood to wake up because she had not slept at all during the night. Every time she had closed her eyes, she had seen Gregor's empty eyes staring up at her or imagined his breath on her neck.

How could someone from the same tribe be so…Vile. Horrible. Cruel.

There was no one word which was sufficient. He seemed like a normal man, and she remembered seeing him many times in the Hall or going about his business.

How could a normal person be so bad?

She lay in bed underneath the warm blankets long past her normal time to get up. Her mother finally came in to check on her.

"Astrid dear, are you well?"

"Yes mom, I'm fine."

"You aren't normally so slow in the morning. Are you hungry?"

Leave it to mom to mention food, I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday.

"Yes, I am."

"Good, you can see to Stormfly too while you are at it. She has been sitting just outside all morning. I think she is waiting for you. I don't get why she doesn't just go to the feeding stations like the other dragons."

"I think that our dragons like our attention. She wants me to feed her."

"Well, there is soup and bread on the table for you and one fish left in the basket, do with it what you want."

"Thanks mom."

She got out of bed after her mother left, dressed, and walked to the kitchen where she began devouring the food left for her.

She doesn't know what is happening in the village. Should I tell her?

Yes, she needs to know.

"Mom, can we talk?"

"Sure dear, what do you want to talk about?"

"Do you remember what I said about Mildew?"

"Oh, that old nuisance?"

"He's not just a nuisance mom. He has had dragons killed! He has been plotting against the Chief!"

Her mom put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"Astrid, stop this! Do you hear yourself?"

"Gobber was there mom! He saw it all. If you don't believe me, just ask him! Ask him if one of Mildew's men put a knife to my back!"

Her mother gasped and stood still for several moments.

"They did what?"

"You heard me," Astrid whispered.

"My baby!" she quickly moved over to hug her daughter, "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Only my leg, but I'll be fine."

"Who did it? By the gods, I will hurt them!"

"It was Gregor and there is no need, he is already dead."

"Dead, how?"

"Gobber and one of the Chief's Night Furies saved me. They… fought Gregor off. Mom, when Mildew finds out what happened, he will be very mad and his people might do something terrible."

Her mother nodded in agreement.

"You're right. Maybe you shouldn't go out there. We can say you are sick or something."

"No mom. I'm needed out there. Getting hurt on the job is an occupational hazard for a dragon trainer."

Her mother did not look very thrilled by this, but Astrid was responsible for the whole training Academy and she was almost a woman anyway. She could be responsible enough.

"Ok Astrid, just be careful. Keep your weapon with you. I'll tell your father everything."

"Don't worry mom," Astrid said as she picked up the fish, "I'll have Stormfly with me. I don't think she will let anything bad happen."

---

Astrid walked with Stormfly to the arena and was not at all surprised to find the rest of the riders waiting there for her.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut approached her, looking very excited, while Fishlegs seemed glum and Snotlout looked oblivious.

"Astrid, you won't believe what Gobber told us!" Ruff said.

"Yeah, he told us that you were killed last night!" Tuff continued.

Ruffnut punched her brother.

"You idiot, he said that someone got killed last night."

"Oh yeah, right. So what happened?"

"Mildew captured little Hiccup. I went with Gobber to find him. We found a camp in the forest and we also found Hiccup. Mildew has been plotting to get rid of the dragons. One of his men tried to… stop us, and now that man is dead."

No one said anything after she stopped speaking.

"Do you understand what that means? Do you? Any of you!"

Fishlegs glumly broke the silence.

"It means he is going to find out that his man is… dead. Today. And he will do something soon,"

"Yes. We don't know how many people he has on his side. We need to make sure that everyone, and I mean everyone, keeps their dragons with them. Gobber said that he was going to tell people, but we should tell them too."

"I don't know what to say Astrid. I mean… this has never happened before," Snotlout protested.

"Just keep Hookedfang with you. You wouldn't want him to get hurt, would you?"

"No! Never!"

"Exactly. Alright everyone, you know what to do."

They began to disperse along with their dragons who had been patiently waiting for them. All except Fishlegs. She leaned against Stormfly and sighed very deeply. She never showed any weaknesses in front of anyone, but Fishlegs was kind and generally sensible. He could give good advice about what to do and his knowledge of dragons always proved useful.

"So Fish, how is the book coming?"

"What?" he asked in surprise at the unexpected question.

"The new Book of Dragons that you are working on. How is it?"

"Oh, it is coming well. I got all the Boulder-class, Stoker-class, and Attack-class mostly finished. The Mystery-class is still very… well, mysterious, but at least I was able to get a start on the Night Fury page. I left plenty of space for all the types of dragons for when we learn more in the future."

"Good," she answered.

"Astrid," he stammered, "do you think anyone will actually read it? I mean, how useful will it really be to people?"

"Maybe it won't be useful. Maybe we have to learn how to live with dragons through experience first. But that doesn't mean that it is not good to write a new Book. It will still say everything we know about dragons. That makes it worth doing."

Fishlegs was quiet for a few moments while he listened to her reassurance.

"Thanks Astrid, I needed to hear that."

Fishlegs departed with his Gronkle a moment later.

She could not help the feeling of a vice tightening around her entire world.

---

Everything broke right after the midday meal.

It started with the sound of roaring and hissing. She noticed that the sound was conspicuously different from the normal calls that dragons made. It seemed to be coming from the forest. She was just about to walk to the woods to investigate the sound when a shrill shriek echoed from the forest and was immediately silenced.

Every visible dragon craned its head and turned around to face the direction of the noise. Stormfly's breaths became very heavy and she started anxiously swaying where she stood. The dragons had their wings partially unfurled and had their eyes narrowed on the woods, their teeth bared with faint growls.

It was obvious why they were afraid.

She stroked Stormfly's jaw in reassurance.

"It's ok girl, you will be fine. They won't hurt you."

Stormfly responded by trilling very softly and curling her spiky tail, the spines smoothed flat, around her human.

"Yeah, I love you too girl."

Then she saw smoke rising from a corner of the village. She ran over and saw that the stable next to the Stendaar household was burning. The Stendaars were gathered in front of their house along with their pair of Gronkles.

And a small crowd of Nord with torches and spears were standing around them and yelling. She heard them yelling things she dared not repeat. Then they noticed her.

"There she is." "The dragon-loving pile of…" "She killed Greg!" "Get her!"

They charged her, only to slow down when Stormfly jumped in front of her and screamed at them, all her spines extended. Astrid had never heard her Nadder make that sound before. But she was very grateful of Stormfly's protection.

"What is going on here?"

Gobber and the rest of the youths, their dragons included, came up behind her. Several other people came up behind them as well as a few others joined the rebellious group.

"What do you think you are doing!" Gobber roared at them.

"Gobber, come on. Get over here! You know what side you are on," Edric beckoned to him.

"Never. My place is right here with them."

Edric's look of betrayal was completely lost in the uproar that followed. Both sides were shouting at each other, the rebels waving weapons around. Mildew walked into their midst and looked around.

"Men, it's time we do what we should have done long ago!"

They cheered.

"They took our catch! They killed Gregor!"

They roared in anger, grasping their weapons. They took a step forward, and froze.

Stoick walked into the midst of the gathering, towering over the assembly with an axe held at the ready. His billowing cape and massive red beard gave him the visage of the gods himself. No one had seen his ship arrive through all the commotion, and everyone gasped at his sudden return.

And the dragon-friends gave a soft cheer for Stoick's return, while Mildew's group was more subdued.

"What is going on here?" he roared.

No one said anything for a few moments.

"Sir, Mildew's group has been plotting against us. Against the tribe," Astrid finally spoke up.

"This is absurd. She has always had it in for us. You have no proof!"

"Oh yes, I do. Gobber was there and saw everything."

Stoick turned to him.

"Is it true, Gobber?"

"Yes Chief, they have an entire camp in the forest."

Stoick turned back to face the crowd.

"And what is the camp for?"

"Defense of course. Someone has to keep weapons for when the beasts turn on us."

"It's not just weapons chief. They put the traps back in the woods to kill dragons!"

Stoick frowned at Mildew.

"Why? We do not need traps anymore."

"We don't feel safe around them. It's them or us!"

Mildew pointed his staff at the dragons, once again provoking their growls.

"Sir, you should know… these rebels have been burning buildings and killed wild dragons. And…"

Astrid paused, realizing what would surely happen after she spoke.

"…they hurt one of your little dragons."

Stoick went stiff, exactly as she expected he would. He slowly turned to her and lowered his voice. When he spoke, she could barely hear his words and yet they made her skin crawl with the fear and anger they contained.

"Which… one?"

And she had to hide the fact that she knew exactly why he asked which one had been hurt.

"They hurt Hiccup."

Stoick wheeled around on the gathering and glared at Mildew, the white of his knuckles showing where he grasped the axe.

"You… dared… hurt my s… dragon! You threatened our tribe!"

"One of his men tried to kill Astrid, and also said that they wanted a new Chief, one who hasn't gone weak," Gobber interjected.

Stoick stopped yelling and instead just stared at Mildew and his group.

"You think I am weak. That I am not fit to be Chief anymore. Well," he said while lifting his axe and pointing it in their direction, "do any of you want to test that? Any of you!"

They all shrunk away from his towering fury. A few of the men on the edge of the group began to look around nervously, as if they wanted to flee.

"No you don't. You are all with him. Where is the Elder, where is Gothi? Bring her!"

Spitelout ran off in the direction of the Elder's hut.

Mildew seemingly understood why he had sent for the Elder.

"You don't dare. This is our home, and we are trying to protect it!"

"Wrong, it was your home."

Gothi hobbled into the clearing several minutes later, leaning very heavily on her cane. Her sleepy eyes were barely creaked open, but she seemed very aware of what was going on around her.

Stoick saw that she was present and began.

"Mildew, you and your followers have committed crimes against the tribe. You have threatened fellow members of the tribe, burned the tribe's buildings, killed dragons, and tried to supplant your Chief. You and your men are Outcast!"

There was a collective gasp and then… nothing.

No cheering, no jeering, or looks of hate.

At least, not from those still of Berk. It had been a long time since anyone had been Outcast from the island. But when it happened, they lost all standing in the community. They were not to be addressed as anything other than 'Outcast'. And that was when they were acknowledged at all. To be completely ignored was one of the worst punishments given to the living.

"But… but… you cannot do that!" Mildew stammered.

Gothi slowly walked into the clearing. She silently faced the rebels and slowly raised her staff in the direction of the harbor. Then she turned away and was helped back toward her hut by Ingrid.

"But…"

"Men!" Stoick roared, "there are Outcasts on our island. See them off or they die."

Mildew's group began walking back to their houses, their shoulders slumped and all energy gone.

"Where do you think you are going Outcasts?"

"To get our stuff," Edric whined.

"What stuff? You are not going anywhere other than the harbor. You have no home here, Outcast," Gobber reminded him.

"But…"

The growl of Snotlout's Nightmare and the sound of axes and knives being drawn made him quiver and join the rest of the crowd shuffling down the slope toward the harbor.

Only Mildew lingered, still glaring in Stoick's direction. Then he snarled and turned away after shouting out one more time.

"You will regret this!"

A couple dozen men followed him, weapons drawn to make sure that he did as he was commanded.

.

.

"Well, that's over with," Gobber cheerfully burst out, trying to lighten the dour mood. After all, their tribe had just shrunk by about a fifth judging from the size of the crowd making its exodus.

Gobber walked over and grasped Stoick's arm.

"About time you got back," Gobber said.

"What? Oh, right. Astrid… how bad did they hurt… my dragon?"

"They just hurt his arm. He should be fine, he just can't walk well."

His sigh of relief made sense to her considering that he was only being a concerned father, albeit in secret.

"Good. That's good," he whispered in palpable relief. Then he looked around at most of what was left of his tribe.

"So, I guess you want to know what I did when I was gone."

A general murmuring of yes followed.

"I arranged a treaty with the Berserkers, Volsung, and Vaina. They will not go to war with us."

"That's good news. What do we have to do for them?" Gobber asked.

"We will show them how to train their own dragons. I'll tell you all everything later, but right now I need to rest."

"You go ahead Chief. You've been traveling for a long time," Gobber answered him.

Stoick turned to leave, but Gobber remembered something.

"Say Chief, do you have a copy of the treaty? I'm sure Elder Gothi will want to see it."

Stoick paused and stared off into the distance.

"I'm sorry Gobber, I'm afraid I lost it. About the Elder though…"

Gobber watched as Stoick continued walking off toward the Elder's hut. It was very strange seeing his longtime friend now, knowing what must be going through Stoick's head. To come home to a tribe that was turning on itself in his absence and to a baby dragon-son who had been hurt. And to keep his knowledge of everything that had happened to Hiccup a secret from everyone else.

There would be time later to figure out what to do with the now-empty houses. Out of the corner of his eye, he could barely see a couple longboats setting out to sea with the now-Outcasts.

On the one hand, some of those on the boats were probably not bad people. They were just simpletons who had been drawn into the wrong crowd. On the other hand, that group was capable of killing and subverting the tribe. Not to mention what they had done to Hiccup and tried to do to Astrid.

They were the reason he had been forced to knife someone from his own tribe.

It had to be this way. Change is never easy.

---

He pushed aside the cloth covering the door to the Elder's hut. Immediately, the smells of mushrooms, herbs, smoke, and Terrible Terrors assailed his nose. The sharp smell of the grasses the Elder burned always made him feel slightly light-headed.

He made his way over to the bed on which Gothi spent most of her time now. Age, it seemed, was finally starting to catch up with her. She was resting in the bed, quite snug under her blankets and already seemingly asleep. There were a couple Terrors dozing near her feet.

Waking up such an old woman would have been disgraceful if she were not also the village healer. He knew someone in need of healing.

"Elder?"

She lazily opened her eyes and turned to look at him.

"You don't need to get up. One of my dragons got a little hurt, do you have something I could take to him?"

She groaned and slowly sat up in bed. A few gestures later, which Stoick had long since learned to understand, and she asked what kind of hurt.

"His arm, it's nothing too bad. Just if you have something for the pain…"

She raised a very wrinkled hand and pointed toward a jar of green stuff on a nearby shelf. Then she softly rubbed her other arm and lay back down.

He went over and grabbed the strange salve. As he did so, a strange guilt came over him for what just transpired.

"Elder, did I do the right thing earlier?"

She stared through him with her sharp blue eyes. Eyes that held many years of experience and bespoke much wisdom.

She closed her eyes and he could have sworn that he saw her give him a nod.

"Thank you, Elder," he whispered before backing out of the room and leaving her to her rest. He retrieved his traveling bag from outside Gothi's hut and walked home with the salve in hand. The closer he got, the more afraid he became. What would he see? How bad exactly was Hiccup's hurt?

He slightly trembled as he walked through the door and looked around his house. It was just as quiet and empty as he remembered it. His gaze wandered over the room, eventually fixing on the helmet above the fireplace.

What would Valka say?

His steps toward Hiccup's room were slow and measured. He was afraid of what he would see. Astrid had said that it had only been a hurt arm, instead of the far worse things that he had imagined. But it was still his son who had been hurt.

It had also been three weeks since he had seen his son, since he had seen his baby dragons.

He walked into Hiccup's bedroom and saw the two dragons curled up on the bed, both apparently sound asleep. The smaller one was holding one of its arms out at a strange angle.

Had Hiccup grown in the three weeks he was gone?

He knelt at the side of the bed and carefully reached out his arm, nudging Hiccup on his shoulder. Hiccup stirred slightly and opened his eyes. He immediately swung his tiny head around to stare at his father.

"Son?"

Hiccup crawled to his feet and ran over to him, carefully throwing his dragon arms wide in a hug. He could remember the first time that Hiccup had hugged him shortly after… hatching. Hiccup's arms had not even been able to fit halfway around his waist back then. Now they could.

"Hiccup, are you ok?"

Hiccup nodded while making a strange crooning sound. It had to be involuntary.

"Let me see it."

Hiccup broke away from him and held out his arm. He gently held the tiny arm and closely inspected it. He was no great judge of dragon bodies but nothing looked broken. Still, Hiccup hissed slightly when he held his tiny arm at the wrist.

It was a shame that Mildew and company were already gone.

"Here, I have something to help it."

He opened the container and dabbed a bit of the mysterious substance on Hiccup's arm.

"You are safe now. Mildew is gone."

Even he could recognize Hiccup's look of surprise.

"Yes, I banished him. He and his men are Outcasts now."

Hiccup looked in the direction of the harbor.

"They are going right now."

Hiccup sat back down, catlike, on his bed with obvious relief and kept looking at his newly-returned father.

"Other than… your arm… did everything go ok here?"

Yes.

"Did Astrid find out about you?"

Hiccup actually grumbled while rolling his eyes. Just like he used to when he was still…

"Ok, that is good. Are you hungry at all?"

Hiccup shook his head and crawled back into his pile of blankets.

"I need to sleep too. You know where I'll be if you… need anything. I'll tell you what happened in the morning."

Hiccup gave him a curt nod and then closed his eyes.

He got up and stumbled down the hall himself, feeling the exhaustion finally catching up to him. Several days on the open sea combined with eating stale bread and having to Outcast rebellious members of his tribe had left him very sleepy. He stared at his unmade bed and let himself fall face-first into its meager comfort.

At least, he did not have to think about anything while he was asleep.

---

Toothless opened his eyes the moment he heard Hiccup's sire leave the room. He had felt Hiccup stirring next to him, but had not wanted to disrupt Hiccup's meeting with his sire.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup said nothing for the longest time.

"Not safe on ground. Bad two-legs get us."

Hiccup thought for a moment, looking hesitant and unsure about something. Then he made up his mind.

"Toothless, teach me flying."