Skulder stared up at Spitfire, his hand shakily rising to point at her. His gaze found Hiccup's.

"She.. I heard her.. This…whoa… I think I need to sit down."

Hiccup smiled as Astrid helped the unstable man to a boulder near the edge. Skulder all but fell against it, sliding until his rear touched stone. Hiccup was grateful the man had left the pack he wore back at the camp. Given that Skulder did not let his back move from touching the boulder as he sat down, Hiccup could only imagine the pain the pack would have caused.

Skulder did not say anything more. Just stared at the dragons on the ledge with Hiccup, Astrid, and Gyda. His eyes fell upon the Ice Terror the did not leave when the others joined the meeting cavern. Said dragon returned Skulder's regard and then tilted her head.

[Yes?] she asked, drawing out the word.

"You were one of those who watched me," Skulder said softly. "I remember your pretty blue scales."

The Ice Terror trilled in the Old Tongue. Hiccup grinned, picking up on the embarrassment and pride in the tone. Skulder, however, reacted with horror.

"Oh, no, did I do something wrong?" he asked frantically looking from Hiccup to Astrid then to Gyda. "I didn't understand that."

Astrid, standing to Skulder's right, clamped a hand over her mouth, but Hiccup saw mirth in her eyes. Gyda pinched the bridge of her nose, but Hiccup saw her smile. The dragons, except Silent, chortled. Hiccup grinned, shaking his head.

"Dragons speak the Common Tongue so we can understand them, but they can also speak the Old Tongue of all dragons. We can't understand that."

Skulder face cleared then his eyes widen and his jaw dropped. "Dragons are bi-lingual?"

Hiccup saw Gyda's eyebrows lift. He wondered why she was surprised. Skulder was a learned man since he did study history and things beyond Berk. Then Hiccup caught sight of Astrid's frown and grimaced. As heir, Hiccup did have access to knowledge others in the tribe would not necessarily have. He knew what bi-lingual meant. He learned that from Johann back before Snotlout decided tormenting his smaller cousin was boring.

One day when Hiccup was ten, Snotlout and the twins wanted Hiccup's 'help' for some brilliant idea they had. Hiccup had long learned that their brilliant ideas destroyed tribe property and Hiccup always got the blame. Stoick had stopped listening to Hiccup before that so he never seemed to question three witnesses against his son.

That day, Hiccup hid in the lower portions of Johann's ship as the trader was in port. When Johann found him, Hiccup had been looking at book with runes he could not read. Hiccup had been certain the trader would drag him before Stoick, demanding Hiccup be punished. Johann then did something that surprised Hiccup, even to this day. The trader crossed the small space and took the book. He then placed it down and asked Hiccup to read it. Hiccup had dropped his head because he could not. Johann simply chuckled and began teaching Hiccup the language in the book. One he called Gaelic.

These lessons continued each time Johann made port thereafter until Hiccup was fluent in both speaking and reading it. As soon as Hiccup could read the entire book, Johann playfully called him bi-lingual and then explained the meaning.

"Yes," Hiccup said, answering Skulder.

"Fascinating," Skulder replied, looking around. "And all dragons can do this?"

Hiccup titled his head. "If taught," he said not going into details.

Skulder was trusted with the ability but not the full history of the dragons. Not just yet.

"I see."

Hiccup blinked when Skulder shot to his feet and stumbled forward. Hiccup shuffled back, caught by Moondust before he could tumble over the edge, as Skulder felt to his knees while facing Toothless' father.

"Hiccup called you the alpha of the nest," Skulder said. "I apologize for not seeking permission to be here. I didn't know."

[Be at ease, human. You aren't to be faulted for a lack of knowledge. Besides you offered no harm to the dragons assigned to watch you and even offered food and shelter to them. For that, I thank you.]

"Sure, any..anytime."

Toothless' father chortled. [You can stand now, human.]

Skulder once again shot to his feet. Hiccup heard Astrid snicker softly. He saw Gyda's bemused smile. Toothless, Stormfly, and Moondust chortled while the Ice Terror snorted.

[Jumpy human aren't you?] she asked.

"Eh, heh," Skulder said, glancing at Hiccup with an expression Hiccup did not need translated.

Skulder had no idea how to answer the dragon. Hiccup just shook his head slowly, his hands making motions to dismiss the question. Skulder visibly relaxed and sighed. He looked around the dragons again and then back to Hiccup, this time frowning.

"So, what now?"

Hiccup looked towards Silent, standing with Stormfly near the opening that connected this ledge to the rest of the nest. Silent closed his eyes and, with that same popping motion that almost caused Hiccup to twinge, bowed his head. Hiccup turned back to Skulder.

"We need your help."

Another trip to Skulder's camp for his pack and the stone tablet he had found in the ruined village he was exploring. Hiccup and Astrid had found him as he was attempting to find more of the tablets as the one he had depicted a scene that clearly continued onto other pieces.

Toothless' father directed them to a small cavern that had no sleeping dens carved along its walls. The ceiling did support more of those openings that let in light, though Hiccup could see the light dimming. Winter days grew shorter as the season progressed and here this far north, it seemed they were even shorter.

Still it was enough light to see the carving. Onyxwing had taken one look at the stone and crooned sadly but did not elaborate why. It seemed that though he knew the significance of the scene depicted, Onyxwing would not tell them what it was. Hiccup suspected he was acting as the Changewing king did and was testing them. The sheen of water in his eyes made Hiccup wonder if the tablet evoked memories Onyxwing did not want to experience again.

Hiccup left it at that and turned his gaze back to the tablet. He frowned. The top half clearly showed Vikings landing their ships along a coast and disembarking. Dragons were shown to be waiting. Hiccup smiled as he noticed no sign of aggression was shown. The humans and the dragons acted as friends reunited.

Hiccup leaned over the tablet and his eyes widen. While the nest held a variety now, the scene only showed Night Furies. Then Hiccup noted one of the Night Furies wore a saddle. Hiccup's head jerked up, his gaze finding Onyxwing.

[Yes. That is me. It was when the humans of my rider's tribe came to live in the nest. Well, those that accepted my rider and myself being bonded as we were.]

Hiccup sensed there was more to that story and that it held a great deal of pain for Onyxwing so he merely tipped his head and then looked at the bottom half of the tablet. He heard Snotlout whistle and felt the same amazement. The bottom half showed a room full of treasure. One thing in particular stood out to Hiccup. The treasure looked piled along the edges of the room while a sole pedestal sat in the middle. Upon it sat a box.

Given that the scene showed the ornate carvings upon the box meant it held more value to whomever placed in there than all the other treasure combined. Hiccup felt intrigue and excitement grow. He wanted to know what was in that box.

Kirka: They are always into something they shouldn't be and I'm glad my battles make you smile.

Literally Nobody: Hehe. Yep, he's here. Viggo is also one of my favorite villains in the series. I hope I can do him justice when he finally shows up in this version. I love writing Toothless' parents though I will be happy when Hiccup finally finds a name for both of them. And aw, thank you. Knowing that you find my story special makes me smile. Knowing that it helps you like English makes me feel proud that it has helped you in any way. Have a good day/night