Hiccup tilted his head. The new dragon, green with red dots all over its body and, surprising to Hiccup, blue three-toed paws, hovered just off the cliff. It snarled something in the Old Tongue that had the nest dragon adults around Hiccup and Astrid snarling in response.
[He is the alpha of the nest,] Toothless declared, his tone sharp and unyielding. [It is his right to be here. It is his duty to let the hatchlings of his nest learn who he is and to memorize his scent.]
The new dragon jerked, water upon its back splattering out from its body. It rumbled something that sounded questioning.
[No, I am not an Elder of the nest,] Toothless replied. [I am Nest Protector and brother to the Alpha.]
The new dragon made another noise that sounded as if it was asking another question.
[We are,] Knowledge began.
[Eldest of all,] Wisdom continued.
[Nest dragons here,] Knowledge added.
[He is Alpha,] Wisdom finished.
The new dragon's eyes narrowed. It chittered something.
[He speaks and understands the Common Tongue,] Stormfly responded.
The new dragon squawked though it sounded as if it the noise came from under water. Stormfly stood straighter.
[I am not an Elder either. I am the bonded dragon to the future queen of the nest.]
That caused the new dragon, the adults removed from their unsafe nests, Toothless' sister, and Toothless' younglings to jerk.
[Bonded?] the new dragon asked in the Common Tongue, its voice female and like the Scauldron and the Tide Gliders sounding as if she was drowning.
She actually sounded worse than those two dragon species. Hiccup did not know that was possible.
[Myself, Toothless, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, and Shadowfire are bonded to some of the humans in the nest. They are our Riders and we are their dragons.]
The new dragon shook her head. [What are these titles you speak of?]
"They are not titles," Hiccup said, deciding to join the conversation.
He was the alpha and the new dragon was speaking in the Common Tongue after all.
"They are names," Hiccup continued when the new dragon and Toothless' sister looked at him. "I named Toothless. The other Riders named their dragons."
[What gave you the right to name a dragon, human?] Toothless' sister demanded and earning a growl from Toothless.
Hiccup place a hand upon Toothless' neck. "Easy, brother. She doesn't know."
[She can still be civil. Our parents taught her better than that. The elders of my hatch nest taught her better than that.]
Hiccup ran his fingertips across the top of Toothless' head. Toothless cooed.
"When I named Toothless," Hiccup began, staring at his brother instead of the new dragon or the female Night Fury, "I did not know dragons could speak. I did not know they had a culture all their own. I, wrongly, assumed they were animals. I was taught that they were animals and nothing more than devils who killed without mercy. I did not know they were in fact magnificent beings who aren't that much different than humans. They love others. They laugh. They cry over a loss. They seek vengeance over wrongs done to them and their flocks." Hiccup shrugged and turned to the new dragon and Toothless' sister. "We humans do the same. It's what made that war so sad and so brutal. It's why distrust and pain still exists on both sides."
[You speak wisdom,] the new dragon said. [Tell me how a human with so much wisdom forms a nest such as this.]
Hiccup turned to Toothless. "Why don't you and the others tell her?" he suggested. "I'll help our new friends get their hatchlings in the cave and settled."
[You would not explain?] the new dragon asked.
"Hatchlings are the future," Hiccup said, turning to the new dragon and gesturing to the hatchlings still huddled by their parents' paws. "The past is the past. This tale is also unpleasant and far from happy, for all involved. Plus, I know the Old Tongue is faster."
[You would let the Wind-shrieker speak in your place?]
"I will let my brother and the others give the tale. It is as much their nest as it is mine. They named me its leader, but they hold rights to its ownership as well. And the bonded dragons are as much a part of the tale as I."
The new dragon blinked. Hiccup smiled, then noted mny adults from his nest hovering behind the new dragon. Given that only the bonded dragons and several other adults from the nest were on the cliff when he left the cave that morning, he assumed these returning ones had been out on a fishing trip. Hiccup turned to nest dragons and tipped his head towards the incoming flock. The non-bonded dragons bowed to him, flared their wings, and rose into the air so the others could land.
[We shall go get more fish for our guests, Alpha,] Pinpoint said.
Hiccup smiled. "Thank you."
He turned to the Gronckles and Nadders still standing and looking around as none could believe what was happening. He gestured to the hatchlings and then to the cave.
"Let's get them in and settled," he said as Toothless and the others began telling the new dragon and the sister just how the nest was formed.
The parents stared at Stormfly and Meatlug. Both dragons nodded their heads. The parents then chittered to their hatchlings. Hiccup moved through the line of nest dragons, Astrid at his side, and the four adults and six hatchlings following.
He tipped his head to Gyda, who still stood in the opening of the cave. She bowed to him and moved to the side. He and those following walked inside. Hiccup heard a slide of boots upon stone and knew Gyda had shifted back to standing in front of the cave. Hiccup smiled, happy to know she had the hatchlings covered.
Blue and Star and four other adults from the nest lifted their heads from where they roosted upon the stone floor. The hatchlings all popped their heads over the edge of the nest. Before the adults could speak, the hatchlings all chittered something that sounded questioning and hopeful.
"Not yet," Hiccup said, guessing the chitters meant a request to leave the cave. "But I brought some new friends." He gestured to the four adults and their hatchlings. "Their nests were too close to the waves for my liking. They are going to stay with us so their hatchlings don't have to worry about drowning." Hiccup turned to the parents. "Blue and Star is the mate to the Elder Double-mind. She and the others in here can help you get your hatchlings in the nest. I know not to come close to them as they need to know their alpha's scent and not my own."
[They have no alpha,] the male Gronckle said.
[Our nest was destroyed by humans and our alpha killed,] the green and blue Nadder said, its voice male.
"I am sorry," Hiccup said. "That war caused many atrocities for both sides."
The other Gronckle stepped closer to Hiccup. [Are you really going to let our hatchlings in with your nest's hatchlings?] it asked, its voice female. [Are you really going to let us stay up here away from the waves?]
"Yes. Had I known you all were down there before now, you all would have been up here already."
[Are we to become part of your nest to repay you?] the other Nadder, its voice also female, asked.
"No. If you want to become a part of my nest on your own that's different, but I will never force a human or a dragon to bow to me."
[You are like no human we have ever known,] the male Gronckle said.
Hiccup smirked and heard Astrid snort.
"I've been told that before. Please get settled and if you have not ate yet my nest is bringing you food when they return."
"Alpha," Gyda's voice drifted in from the mouth of the cave, "Toothless' Sand Wraith youngling wishes to speak to you."
Hiccup blinked and moved out of the cave. Astrid walked with him. Hiccup looked from the unknown youngling and Gyda and back again.
"He's a Sand Wraith?" he asked.
Gyda smiled. "Yes."
Hiccup shook his head. "The old Book of Dragons only mentions them but all with vague stories that even Gobber did not believe and he believes in trolls. Fishlegs is going faint when he sees you, young one."
[Fishlegs?] the Sand Wraith asked, head tilted in the exact same manner Hiccup had seen Toothless do often.
"One of my human friends and the Rider bonded to Meatlug," Hiccup said. "He and I are rewriting the Book of Dragons with the truth of all the species in it."
The Sand Wraith shook himself then looked over his wing and then back to Hiccup.
[Dad said you knocked him out of the skies so you could impress your flock but that you freed him instead of killing him and when you found out he could not fly, you built him a new tailfin. Why? Why did you hurt my father and then be so kind to him later?]
Hiccup sighed and looked down. "I will always, always regret hurting your father, young one. He did not deserve it."
[So why? Dad loves you. I can tell. I just..I don't understand.]
"I did not always hold the title alpha," Hiccup said softly and felt Astrid's hand slip into his and squeeze. "I once held the title useless and a burden to my tribe. A disappointment to my father."
The Sand Wraith frowned. [But.. Dad.. the other dragons here.. these two humans…they all respect you. They didn't before?]
"No," Astrid said. "We were wrong about Hiccup just like we were wrong about the dragons."
The Sand Wraith looked over his wing as Toothless said something in the Old Tongue, staring at his sister as he said it. The youngling then turned back to Hiccup.
[Dad said you ordered him to shoot into the mouth of that Lava-dweller that ruled us.]
Hiccup smiled. "Yes. I saw him shoot into the mouth of a Tiny-fang and realized as that fallen queen was diving after us it could work on her too. I knew that if your father shot a full powered blast instead of the weak one he used on the Tiny-fang just as she was building her gas to flame us, it would detonate the gas inside of her."
The Sand Wraith blinked and then, to Hiccup's surprise, spread his wings and bowed.
[Thank you. Thank you for freeing my father from that monster's control. Thank you for avenging the death of my sister. Thank you for giving my father back the joy I saw in him when he first found myself and my siblings. My father says you are his alpha. May I call you mine?]
Hiccup blinked back tears. "Please stand," he whispered.
The Sand Wraith did, looking unsure. Hiccup smiled. He shifted and held out his right hand, palm towards the Sand Wraith. He then turned his gaze and closed his eyes. He heard the questioning warble.
"He's giving you the option to touch him or not," Astrid whispered. "He did the same for your father."
Hiccup smiled as warm scales pressed into his palm. He turned back. He released Astrid's hand so that he could slip past the Sand Wraith's head and hug him like he did Toothless.
"I would rather you call me uncle," Hiccup whispered.
Dark: Yep, big dragon. Uh, hmm, it's smaller than the Red Death, I think.
Prince: Hehe. Hiccup is smart and wise. And Toothless' sister did bring Astrid's wrath upon herself.