They flew over a long slope covered with snow. This far up the mountain, the snow had been accumulating long before Bucket's prediction and long before Aurvandil's Fire raced across the skies. Now a good swath of the side of the mountain glistened white in the sun. By mutual agreement they chose a spot halfway down the slope as the finish line. Neither wanted to make their dragons slide all the way to the bottom after seeing a crevasse beyond the point they chose as the goal. Sneaky hopped from Stormfly's back to a tree near to the point they chose.

They continued on up the mountain and found a spot near to a tree Sharpshot could rest in. He chose a branch closer to the ground. Toothless and Stormfly both moved to stand side by side. Hiccup turned and tipped his head towards Sharpshot.

[Go!]

Toothless graciously waited until Stormfly was belly to the snow and starting to slide before he laid down and kicked off. They easily surpassed the ladies, much to both's annoyance since both protested with a yell and a screech. Hiccup and Toothless cackled.

The trees blurred. Snow whipped into his face. Hiccup did not care. Stormfly caught up. She and Astrid moved ahead. Hiccup just laughed. Toothless lowered his head. They shot forward. Stormfly opened her wing. Toothless veered around. He lost speed for a heartbeat. They gained ground. They passed the pair. Toothless opened his wing. Astrid grunted. Stormfly chortled. Hiccup felt every worry fade as they raced down.

A second run since Sneaky said both crossed the line together. Hiccup did not mind. He enjoyed the thrill of the slide and he loved the company. Halfway into this run a sharp crack had every bird and Terror roosting in the trees screeching and flying away. Hiccup looked over his shoulder. The blood drained from his face. He spun forward.

"Astrid!" he yelled. "Snow slide!"

She looked back. Hiccup saw her eyes widen. Stormfly slid down a snowdrift. As she rose on the other side, she used the momentum to propel herself skyward. Hiccup clicked the tailfin so Toothless could do the same. Nothing. Hiccup clicked it again. Nothing. He looked back.

"Oh no," he said, noting the tailfin was closed and had a layer of ice upon it.

He unhooked from the saddle. He then maneuvered around and crawled over Toothless back. He reached the fin and tugged. It did not give. A shadow and a screech caused him to look up. The snow chasing them was closer. Astrid and Stormfly were in its path.

"No!" Hiccup cried. "Go back up!"

Astrid ignored him. Stormfly came even, gliding above the ground. Astrid reached for Hiccup. Toothless sailed off the edge of the crevasse. They dropped. Astrid and Stormfly could not recovery. They plumped too. Hiccup felt his heart freeze. Toothless' wings encircled him. He lost sight of Astrid. Hiccup heard a thump. Felt himself jostle in Toothless' hold. His head hit Toothless' foreleg. Toothless hissed and groaned. A roar echoed. Toothless hissed again. Then all went silent and still.

Hiccup felt Toothless struggle. The dragon kept him within his wings, but Hiccup got the impression his dragon brother was fighting something. Hiccup tried to move. He wanted to help. Toothless' nose buried into Hiccup's hair.

[Stop,] Toothless said, breathless. [I need to get the snow off. Thankfully we got under an overhang and it kept most of the snow from burying us.]

"Astrid? Stormfly?"

["Here."]

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. They were not right beside him but they were alive. He could wait until his brother got them free of the snow.

As soon as Toothless released him and opened his wings, Hiccup spied Astrid standing under the overhang and against the rock wall with Stormfly covering her, wings extended to keep snow still falling off her. Hiccup spared a glance to see Toothless on his paws then rushed to Astrid. He grabbed her close. She buried into his arms. The thing within him purred and then growled when she shivered. He went to sit, to hold her closer. Toothless, using his head, shoved him back upright. Hiccup glared at his brother.

[The cold will drain your heat, brother,] Toothless said tapping the snow dusted stone Hiccup was just about to sit upon.

"She's cold," Hiccup said. "We need to huddle close for warmth."

[Step out from the wall, brother. Stormfly and I have this.]

Stormfly moved back. Hiccup and Astrid followed, though both stumbled as neither were ready to release the other. Hiccup glanced back when he did not hear Toothless follow. His gaze shifted to Stormfly when the Nadder walked in a circle and spat fire at the ground. Soon a ring of glowing red stone surrounded Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup's eyes widen when Stormfly stopped then extending her wings, curling them forward a bit. Hiccup looked over his shoulder as he saw Toothless' wings rest on top of Stormfly's. Stormfly and Toothless kept their heads over Hiccup and Astrid and the fire heated stone kept them warm. Hiccup held Astrid closer. She stopped shivering.

[Brothers? Lady Alpha? Stormfly?]

[Sharpshot,] Toothless called. [Get help. They need to stay warm until we can get out of here.]

Sharpshot screeched and Hiccup heard Sneaky chirp. Wing flaps proved the smaller dragons flew off. Hiccup kept Astrid in his arms but kept an eye upon the ring of fire warmed stones. He knew Nadder fire was the hottest of all the dragons, but everything heated up eventually cooled down. Hiccup, with soft movements, shifted him and Astrid around in a circle so he could look at Toothless tailfin. The tailfin still had ice holding it in a closed position. They could not fly out, unless-

"Toothless, can you curl your tail close to the ring Stormfly made?" Hiccup asked.

[No,] Toothless replied. [To stand like this for long, I have to have my tail out behind me for balance.]

Hiccup nodded. He looked over his shoulder. "Stormfly, take Astrid-"

"Not leaving, Hiccup," Astrid stated, holding him closer.

"Astrid," Hiccup began.

"No. I am not leaving you, Hiccup."

"But Astrid, Toothless and I can get home later after we get his tailfin working again. You need to get somewhere warm."

"Hiccup, I watched you and Toothless fall off that edge. I was reaching for you and you fell before I could get you. I am not leaving you."

"I want you safe, Astrid."

"I'm safe with you."

Hiccup sighed but began to rub Astrid's back. He knew she would not leave.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Astrid began to rub his back in response. He did want her safe. He did want her where she could get warm. He also wanted her at his side. At his side he knew she was alive and after watching her fall, he had to know she was alive. Hearing her say she felt safe with him was nice to hear as well. Not many felt safe in his presence before the battle with the fallen queen. Still the inevitable that Hiccup knew would happen started as the ring began to glow just a bit less.

The sun, shining while they raced, began to dim. Wind picked up. Hiccup heard a dull, reverberating crack. He saw the snow beginning to pile higher beyond the ring and the dragon's legs. A hiss echoed as the pile overturned and some of the snow fell onto the glowing ring of stone. Stormfly hissed herself but with the falling snow, Hiccup knew she would not, could not, drop her wings to reignite the ring.

Hiccup blinked as several Fireworm ran under and in between Toothless and Stormfly's legs. They began to glow. Hiccup hummed as warmth began to rise. He saw several other Fireworms stand near to Toothless' tailfin and begin to glow. The ice started to melt. A shadow passed over. Toothless and Stormfly lifted their heads. Several Gronckles hovered as close as they could to each other above everyone. A familiar glow rested upon their backs and the snow hissed into steam as it fell upon them.

The Fireworms at Toothless' tail chirped. Hiccup looked over, finding the ice gone. Toothless' wings furled and he shuffled back, falling onto all fours. He lifted his tail, curling it around but over the Fireworms. Hiccup, reluctantly released Astrid and tugged on the tailfin. It opened and closed smoothly. Stormfly chittered, her wings closing. She turned, sitting down, making sure her rider did not have to get near the glowing ring of stones in order to mount. Astrid climbed into the saddle. Stormfly stood. Hiccup noted Toothless shifted around, the ring under his neck and the saddle no where near the stones. Hiccup smiled and climbed into the saddle. He looked down at the Fireworms.

"How are you getting out?" he asked, knowing the smaller dragons could not handle the cross winds in the crevasse.

[We shall get them out, Alpha,] one of the Gronckles said, its voice female. [As soon as you and the others are out, we'll carry them up.]

"Thank you," Hiccup said as Toothless and Stormfly took off.

It was a struggle with the winds, but they were able to get out of the crevasse. The Gronckles rose soon after, all the Fireworms sitting upon their backs but not glowing. Sharpshot and Sneaky sat upon Lorekeeper's back, who stood with Winddancer and Amethyst. The three Elder rose to meet Hiccup and the others in the sky.

[Alpha,] Lorekeeper said, [are you all okay? Your brother found us as we were ensuring all the dragons were safe.]

"We are fine now," Hiccup said. "Thank you all."

[Let's get you back to your dens, Alpha, The storm is upon us.]

Kirika: Hehe, you may be surprised, my friend. And it seems more are gonna end up being confined.