A/N: Incredibly busy for the next few days, so don't be alarmed if I take a bit to get to your reviews!

Response to Random Fan: Hiccup is so dead. But, Hiccup ends up those places all the time, so, eh. No biggie. XD I've been looking forever for a chance to use Dragonese, and I couldn't pass this up! Again, Hiccup is so dead. Be it Astrid or Toothless, he's doomed. Most definitely is he going to search for his "flock."

Real fast:

Regular speech

Thoughts

Dragonese

"Head hurt. Where flock?"

He crawled through the forest, confused and disoriented. He had thought that getting away from the dark, enclosed den would fix things, but he didn't know where he was. He paused and looked at the sky, wondering if he'd be able to find the others from there. He stretched and flexed… well, nothing.

Even more confused, he turned his head. He gave a distressed growl at the sight of his bare back and no tailfin. No tail and he couldn't feel a paw, either.

He craned his neck down to check his left hind paw. Both of his hind paws looked different. The right was thick and brown, but the other was one big, skinny claw that gleamed a dull gray.

He blinked and tapped the claw on the ground, still not feeling anything aside from the thumping halfway up that leg. After a moment, he decided to ignore it.

He moved in a circle, as if the missing wings and tail had fallen off. On his search, he stumbled over limp red wings on his forelegs. That didn't feel right, but nothing did, so he didn't question it. He crouched and flapped his wings.

Nothing happened. No powerful wingbeat, no rush of wind against his muzzle. He couldn't even feel his wings!

He growled in anger and straightened to keep walking, only for the forest to veer sideways. He collapsed on his right side.

"Hiccup!"

A roar and large footsteps had him scrambling to stand. He managed a wobbly crouch, then a Spike-Flinger stepped into view.

This dragon was much, much bigger than him, but he wasn't going to be intimidated. He snarled threateningly. He was surprised, but pleased, when the larger dragon stopped her advance.

"Spike-Flinger territory?" He asked cautiously.

The Spike-Flinger cocked her head. "No dragon territory."

He bobbed his head, pleased. "Mine."

The Spike-Flinger churred. He sniffed, not impressed. Having steadied a bit, he straightened and stalked closer with his head reared back and a warning show of his teeth. The Spike-Flinger squawked and cocked her head back to show her throat. He sat back, pleased by her submission.

"Name?"

"Stormfly," the Spike-Flinger supplied. "Hiccup know that."

"Hiccup?"

"Name. You."

He frowned. How could this Spike-Flinger pretend to know his name? Besides, that was a silly name! His name was… he blinked.

"Not remember name," he growled softly.

Stormfly cocked her head. "Hiccup good name."

He grumbled. "Name Hiccup."

Stormfly squawked happily. Hiccup repeated the sound.

"Where Hiccup going?" Stormfly asked.

Hiccup sat on his haunches and looked around. He'd claimed this territory as his, but he didn't really want it. It was too flat and grassy, with no den in sight. He moved his foreleg shoulders up, since he didn't have wings to ruffle.

"Where Stormfly going?" he asked instead.

"Stormfly follow Hiccup?"

"Hiccup lone dragon!"

Stormfly churred, making Hiccup show his teeth in a pleased way. The friendly Spike-Flinger didn't seem to mean him any harm.

"But, Stormfly come," Hiccup allowed. All dragons needed company.

Stormfly rustled her wings and crouched, clearly offering him a ride on her back.

"Hatchlings ride," Hiccup said in disdain.

He stood, then his legs wobbled and he fell on his face. Stormfly stepped closer, cooing in concern.

"Hiccup ride," Hiccup sighed.

Gentle jaws grabbed Hiccup's back-scales and lifted him. Stormfly settled Hiccup on her back, then moved further into the forest.

"Hiccup! Hiccup, where are you?"

Astrid stopped to listen, but there were no voices beyond her own echoing back. She scowled at the forest, wondering if she had gone too far and should backtrack.

"I don't think he could have gotten this far if he was hurt, Toothless," Astrid said.

Toothless looked back at her, then resumed sniffing the ground. He grumbled and walked away. Astrid went to where he had been sniffing, and found a large set of tracks that was unmistakably Stormfly's.

"Well, we found Stormfly," Astrid said. "I wonder if she's looking for Hiccup, too."

Toothless paced around Astrid, then stopped to paw at the grass. Astrid followed his gaze, and spotted a flattened section of grass that wasn't a pawprint. A faint trail led to the flattened spot.

"Hiccup?" Astrid eyed the area again. "He walked this way… then fell, it looks like."

Toothless rumbled his agreement.

"But where did he go from here?" Astrid asked.

Astrid gasped as she spotted something else. Picking up the white rag, Astrid's breath caught when she saw the drying blood on the cloth. Shaking her head, she stuffed the rag into her belt and looked around.

There was only one trail leading to the place that he had fallen. Astrid looked from the flattened spot to Stormfly's trail. Her dragon must have found him and given him a ride, though why did Stormfly's trail go deeper into the forest?

"Let's follow Stormfly, I guess?" Astrid said.

Toothless offered his back to Astrid, who gladly climbed on. Toothless raced along the path of the tracks for a minute, then slowed when they reached a rocky stretch.

"Lost the trail?" Astrid asked.

Toothless sniffed the air as he continued to make his way up the rocks. Eventually, he stopped in front of some boulders that formed a cave. He cooed and looked back at Astrid, prompting her to slide to the ground. She held up her axe cautiously as something scratched against stone.

"Stormfly?"

A familiar squawk came from the cave. Stormfly walked into view, but stayed near the cave entrance. Astrid walked closer, then hesitated when a strange growl came from the cave.

So, it wasn't Hiccup. It must have been a wild dragon that Stormfly had found, probably injured. Either that, or Hiccup had found a wild dragon when he walked off. And while she didn't hear any signs of Hiccup, he would never forgive her if she left an injured dragon.

Astrid walked carefully forward. Stormfly squawked defensively, but calmed when Astrid put a hand to her muzzle. Astrid looked past Stormfly, where she could barely make out a small shape in the dark cave. She set down her axe and stepped closer. The shape snarled.

"It's okay," Astrid said soothingly. "I don't want to hurt you. Stormfly, can you convince him to come out?"

Stormfly turned and squawked at the hidden dragon. The dragon snarled again and shifted deeper into the shadows.

Astrid rolled her eyes. She didn't have the time to deal with a jumpy dragon Hiccup's way. If she went in and showed no fear, the dragon would just have to deal with her presence.

Walking back to the treeline, she grabbed a solid branch. She brought it back to Stormfly and had her light the end.

"Okay, dragon. I'm coming in," Astrid said, then walked right into the cave.

Astrid only had time to raise her hands defensively when the small dragon roared and launched itself at her. It wrapped gangly limbs around her, hitting her with enough force to knock her backward out of the cave and onto her back.

Astrid could give as good as she got, though. She shoved up, forcing the dragon's hold off of her, and rolled them both so that she was on the dragon's back. She reached to pin the wings, then stopped, finally able to get a good look at the "dragon."

"Hiccup?"

In her moment of distraction, Hiccup bucked Astrid off. She hit the ground, then rolled quickly away as Hiccup leaped at her. She scrambled to her feet, looking to Stormfly for help.

But Stormfly was acting as oddly as Hiccup. She was blocking Toothless from reaching either of the Riders while growling a challenge.

"What in Thor's name is going on here?!" Astrid demanded.

Hiccup backed off at Astrid's yell. He gave a small, dragon-like roar, and Stormfly left Toothless to run to his side. Astrid's dragon crouched beside Hiccup, snarling at Astrid.

"I think someone got into the dragon nip," Astrid said with a sigh. "Hiccup, why are you encouraging her?"

Hiccup just growled. Astrid stared at him.

"Okay, Hiccup, this has gone on long enough," Astrid said, starting to get weirded out. "Let's get back to the Clubhouse and have Fishlegs take a look at you."

Hiccup continued to growl. His hair stuck up in weird spikes, giving him the appearance of a wild animal. The almost feral gleam in his eyes certainly added to the look.

"Oh, Thor," Astrid murmured. "This is a lot worse than Fishlegs thought. Toothless, can you grab him?"

Toothless snorted, giving Astrid an unimpressed look. Pushing Astrid back with a wing, Toothless stalked closer. Stormfly squawked and moved defensively in front of Hiccup.

"Never take a toy from a dragon," Astrid thought, remembering one of the rules of dragon training. Although, it seemed more like she thought Hiccup was her baby or a fellow dragon.

"Stormfly, back!" Astrid said firmly.

Stormfly squawked, but backed away. Hiccup stalked forward, apparently thinking that he could hold his own against Toothless.

Toothless crooned calmly at Hiccup, who returned it with a snarl. Toothless paused and growled. Hiccup growled back.

"Are they… talking?" Astrid wondered.

She shouldn't have been surprised, really. If Hiccup thought he was a dragon, why not talk like one as well?

It would have been less shocking if it didn't sound like Toothless actually understood Hiccup's growls.

Nevertheless, Astrid remained still and quiet, waiting to see how Toothless would act.

Toothless apparently ended the conversation with a snort and bold step forward. Hiccup growled, but Toothless took another step.

Toothless got as little of a warning as Astrid had. Hiccup threw himself at Toothless, wrapping his arms and legs around Toothless' head and neck. When Toothless didn't budge from the attack, Hiccup set about clawing and kicking the dragon viciously.

His lack of claws kind of ruined the "vicious" part, though. Astrid didn't know whether or not she should laugh at Hiccup's antics.

Toothless rumbled at his Rider's odd actions, then gave a toothless grin. Letting out a pained roar that was obviously fake, Toothless staggered sideways. His legs wobbled, then he collapsed to the ground, head dropping heavily with Hiccup still clinging to the underside.

Hiccup gave a squeal of shock. He squirmed, but found himself pinned.

"Good boy, Toothless," Astrid said, stepping closer.

Spotting her, Hiccup screeched like a trapped Nadder. Stormfly returned the sound with an infuriated roar. Astrid didn't bother turning, she just threw herself to the side. She rolled and came to her feet in time to see a magnesium blast hit the ground a few feet back from where she had been standing seconds before.

Toothless growled in surprise. Hiccup took the distraction as an opportunity to jerk his body and slip out from under Toothless. Toothless roared and reached, then Stormfly rammed into him and knocked him rolling. Stormfly grabbed Hiccup around the middle.

"Stormfly, no!" Astrid yelled.

Stormfly stopped and looked at Astrid. Hiccup lifted his head and glared at Astrid from his awkward position.

"Drop it," Astrid ordered.

Stormfly cooed, but didn't make any move to put Hiccup down. Astrid tried again, more firmly.

"Drop it!"

Stormfly started. She held her position, though. Hiccup was grumbling dragon sounds under his breath.

Astrid was worried she and Stormfly would be stuck, when she noticed Toothless slowly standing. A rapid plan formed in Astrid's head.

"Okay, girl," Astrid said, taking a few steps to the side. "So you don't want to give us Hiccup."

Stormfly turned to follow Astrid's movements, unknowingly turning her back to Toothless. Luckily, the Night Fury caught on to Astrid's plan, and positioned himself to leap.

"Can you bring him back to the Clubhouse?" Astrid tried. "You know, like when we play fetch?"

Stormfly perked up at the mention of "fetch." Hiccup growled, so Astrid took a step back. It would be best if she could get Stormfly to carry Hiccup to the Edge. At least if Stormfly tried to hide with him there, Astrid would know they were someplace safe.

After a moment of Stormfly not moving, Hiccup dropped his head. From that vantage, there was no missing Toothless creeping up on Stormfly. Hiccup screeched a warning.

"Now, Toothless!"

Toothless leaped, but Stormfly was quicker. She jumped and opened her wings, rising out of reach.

Astrid groaned, then her eyes widened at Toothless' yelp. With no time for her to move or Toothless to stop, Toothless barreled full force into Astrid.

A/N: This chapter. Was so much fun to write! XD

A fun thing about working with dragon terms is finding new names for the dragon breeds!

Had more to say. Can't remember. Adios.