[He what?] Stoick asked.

[Hiccup made that barrier,] Gyda repeated. [Somehow, someway, Hiccup has the ability to wield magic.]

Toothless slowly lifted his head though it felt like rocks were tied to his sensing lobes and someone was repeatedly hitting his skull with the hammer Hiccup used to in that place he called a smithy. When Gyda had told them all to talk to Hiccup, Toothless did not have to place his muzzle next to Hiccup's left ear. His head fell on its own. His neck seemed unable to do its job and keep his head up. Still, Gyda's announcement deserved more than him just speaking and not looking at her. He just was not sure which of the two Gyda's he was supposed to look at right now. Before he could speak though, Moondust, back at the opening, gasped.

"I knew Alpha was a mage."

Gyda shifted, as did everyone in Hiccup's den. Moondust was staring at Hiccup but her gaze flicked to Sharpshot first and Toothless second.

"When we went after that water worm," Moondust said. "He had you stand to retrieve that scale of his."

"He calls that a shield," Toothless corrected without thought and he wondered if his voice sounded as clogged with fur to them as it did to him.

It did not seem as if they noticed. Still it had been automatic that he corrected Moondust. The dragons in the nest turned to him and the bonded dragons for translation of the human words they were learning after all.

"Why do you believe that shield makes Alpha a mage?" Frostfire asked, from where he sat upon the part of the bed Hiccup called a bedpost, more specifically the post at the foot of the bed.

Toothless wondered when Frost gained a twin and when that twin joined the nest. He did not remember a third Tiny-icespitter bowing to Hiccup.

"It's something that defends him just like our scales defend us," Moondust answered, "yet it can attack by throwing rock-vines and long, thin spikes. And he thought it up and created it."

"Bolas and arrows," Toothless said, still without thought.

"Huh?" Moondust asked.

Toothless shook himself. He was not sure if it was the fact his brother had almost died, he had smelt that and never wanted to smell it again, or Gyda's announcement, but he felt as if he was there in the den, but not there either. It was a surreal experience that he had no point of reference for.

[Toothless,] Gyda said, [lay your head back down. Do not move until what you are feeling passes.]

Toothless blinked but did as Gyda said. The odd sensation of spinning when he was standing still eased as soon as his nose came in contact with the side of Hiccup's head. He closed his eyes, beginning to purr. He did not why but he could not stop either. He heard Gyda sigh.

[That was too close,] she whispered.

[What was?] Astrid asked and Toothless both heard and smelled her fear.

[Hiccup does nothing by halves,] Gyda replied. [He went for the strongest barrier known to a mage and coated it in fire that acted on its own. That much magic used from someone not trained-]

Gyda's voice trailed off. Toothless felt Astrid pull Hiccup closer to her and he shifted his head in response. Actually, touching his brother kept that odd feeling away and kept his head clear of fog and wild winds. Still, Toothless felt as if he had flown the entire distance from his hatch nest to the place far to the south where he found his fledglings and back again in three back to back trips. He fought it but his eyes closed and he slumped. The world went dark.

["Toothless!"]

"Easy, everyone," Gyda said. "Toothless is fine. His body is fatigued."

[What happened to him?] Moondust asked, having jumped into the room when Toothless slumped against the bed unconscious.

"Break not the rider's bond," Gyda said. "For two souls intertwined in trust and love can never be separated least death take them both."

"My sons almost died 'gain?" Stoick demanded now standing just on the step below Gyda.

"Sons?" Gyda questioned, head tilted.

"Toothless be me boy jest as Hiccup and Sharpshot are," Stoick stated.

[Finally,] Frost muttered.

"Frost."

[Sorry, Mama.]

Gyda stared at her son for several seconds. She knew why he said that. He had loved Hiccup's character from the get go after watching the first movie. She remembered how excited and ecstatic he had been when Thor, Loki, and Sigyn first showed up and proposed the deal about bringing the Berkians and a select group of dragons to the future. She also knew had he been there she would never have had a chance to yell at Stoick. Frost would have done so in her stead and far more often than she had. She knew what it meant to Frost to hear Stoick call Hiccup's his son in a tone of voice that said the declaration would never be rescinded, ever. Still he was the chief and the Alpha's father. They had to respect that even if they did not respect all of his actions and choices.

Gyda turned at hearing Stoick grunt. She saw him stare at the bed and hoped he would not tell Astrid to get up. He did have that right, but Astrid needed to remain where she was just as much as Toothless did. The rider's bond was strong but Gyda had a suspicion. With Hiccup's powers, whatever those were, and now his magic being awakened, the bond between him and Astrid would just as strong as the bond between him and Toothless, even if that bond took on a different form. Hiccup needed both holding him or touching him in some capacity right now and they needed the contact with Hiccup as well.

"Ye said his core, whatever that is, be stable," Stoick said looking away from his son and future daughter-in-law. "Why he still be out? Why did Toothless fall like that?"

Gyda frowned, not quite sure how she could explain what had happened. Though the Vikings had volvas and such, magic as she knew it and used it was not something Vikings probably ever experienced. At least given the dragons repeatedly saying mages were extinct, Gyda believed the Vikings would not quite comprehend her magic. She did know many feared it. She saw that from people in the tribe while they were in her cave and when she came to live with them on Berk.

The tribe, over time, had come to accept her due to Gothi's declaration that she was welcomed by the gods and that Hiccup held authority over her magic. This did not mean they would understand anything she said about it and largely avoided questioning her in regards to it. The exception for that being the twins who bombarded her daily, but then those two had always been odd, funny, but odd.

Gothi, who had moved to Toothless' side when he slumped, moved away from the dragon. She headed for the small shelf Hiccup must have installed to act as his desk. Having seen this room depicted multiple times over the course of the shows, it struck Gyda how much they got right and how much they got wrong.

Hiccup did sleep in the loft area of his house, but it was open to the fire pit below, which explained why the builders were confused when she asked for a wall and a door for her sleeping loft. There was also a desk of a sort for him, but it was just a hewn and halved log affixed to the wall to the right of the opening in the roof. It had a cut log set on its side as a chair. The opening in the roof also had a shutter it looked like that could be closed. Toothless stone was flatter but rough looking, as if it had been hacked at instead of chiseled to be a smooth surface. It was also smaller than the shows portrayed and set just behind the log chair.

Gyda blinked, coming out of her thoughts as Gothi walked over, holding a sizable piece of tree bark. She handed it to Gobber, who had to reach around Stoick to grab it. Gobber stared at the bark and frowned.

"She says Hiccup 'n Toothless be actin' like both be injured and be recoverin'."

"Exactly," Gyda said grateful for Gothi's presence. That would help. "Hiccup's core awoke and he somehow used a spell that would drop even a master mage. When that glow began to pulse wildly that was his core becoming unstable. He would have died had you all not kept talking. He had to know that his loved ones were here and wanted him to return so he could fight and force the core to stabilize. Now that its stable, his body is recovering its strength."

She paused to take a breath and continued.

"Toothless felt the aftereffects. His rider, the human fused to his soul, was dying. He was dying as a result. The fact both were in the same room and touching is the only reason neither were feeling the pain my father and Ombra felt. They were a kingdom apart when the bond snapped. Once Hiccup's core stabilized Toothless stopped dying as well. Toothless could not handle the sudden shift between the two and that's why he's unconscious. Once both recover their strength they'll wake again."

"This happen 'fore?" Stoick asked. "Ye knew what ta do and reacted to keep both me boys alive."

"I am not a novice in magic, Chief. I was apprenticed to a master mage as soon as I was able to walk and speak. I am now considered a journeyman mage and I have seen other mages begin their studies. Some, like me, were known to have the ability to wield magic and thus my core could wake with many masters around and in a manner far less stressful and deadly to my health. Others…started their studies in a similar manner as Hiccup. My master was the one tasked with keeping those novices alive. I aided him."

"Is that how you knew to make that drink you gave him?" Astrid asked, lifting her head from Hiccup's neck but not moving from his side.

"What drink?" Stoick questioned.

"An herbal tonic that my master found kept those novices whose core awoke in violent manner calm." Gyda turned to Gothi. "If a person who is injured and hurting reacts wildly does it not cause the problem to be worse and thus the best way to help them is to try to keep them calm through the ordeal?"

Gothi nodded without hesitation. Gyda turned back to Stoick.

"Because the situation was becoming so deadly so quickly, I had to give him that tonic and had to have his family talking to him. I apologize if I have overstepped my place."

Gyda winced as Stoick's hand came down heavily upon her shoulder. Man did not realize his own strength. She was grateful Toothless did not have to worry about Stoick's nudge to get him airborne since Stoick still did not wish to fly a dragon.

"Ye kept me boys alive, lass. There be no need fer apologies. Thank ye."

Gyda tipped her head. She then laughed. "This is the first time a mage has had to teach their liege lord how to be a mage."

"What ye mean?" Stoick asked.

"I will have to train Hiccup, sir. His core is awake now and he has to know how to properly wield the magic he holds. He can die if he tries something like that barrier and fire spell again without training."

"What would that mean fer yer being sworn ta Hiccup's service?" Stoick asked, lifting his hand.

Gyda shrugged. "Back home Hiccup would have had to release me from my vow because a mage cannot have a mage as a liege lord. At least not in the kingdom I lived in. Here, it's really up to you and Hiccup what it'll mean. I still stand by that vow, sir. I will guard Hiccup and all his holds dear with my life and he will have control over the magic I wield."

Stoick smiled. "Ye be loyal. That be a blessin'. I'll be lettin' Hiccup choose what he wishes on yer vow but please train'm. Please keep'm safe."

"Aye, chief."

"Good. Thank ye, lass."

Before Gyda could reply a welcomed voice sounded in the room with some words that had her and Frost laughing.

"Uh, I'm in my room. Astrid..you're..you're in my room. Does my dad know you're here? Does your dad know you're here?"

Kirika: Howdy. Did you have fun on your vacation? And yep, you missed a bit.