Hiccup, still sitting upon Shadowfire's muzzle, stared at Skulder. His gaze then shifted to Toothless. Toothless shrugged his wings. Hiccup glared at him in response. Toothless smirked.
"You want to direct this flight, brother?"
Hiccup grumbled something that humans would not hear with their poor ears but Toothless heard well.
"I am not sarcastic."
"That's a matter of opinion," Hookfang retorted.
Hiccup gave a barked laugh in triumph. Toothless rolled his eyes before looking to Onyxwing.
"Does your rider do that as well?"
Onyxwing gave a warbled laugh though Toothless did hear the longing in the dragon's tone. Toothless glanced at Hookfang and the others who went to the Hatchery, finding all four staring at Onyxwing with understanding looks. Toothless sighed. He was grateful his missing tailfin meant he would never be apart from his brother though he never voiced that gratitude where the others could hear.
[Um,] Skulder said, his eyes darting between all the dragons like a hatchling caught doing something wrong. [I don't mean to be a bother, but I get the feeling there is a lot more going on than what I was told.]
Everyone, human and dragon alike, faced Hiccup. Toothless kept his grin hidden but he was pleased that even the twins, who still loved pranks and messing around, acknowledge Hiccup's right to explain. They had all learned well to respect Hiccup and the title and power he held. Hiccup glanced at all of them with an odd look on his face. That he still sat on Shadowfire's snout did not bother Toothless. He had felt and heard the surge of Hiccup's alpha side.
Hiccup knew about the purring all dragons who touched him heard. He knew about the peace they all felt when he scratched their scales or hugged them. What Hiccup did not know was that a steady and melodious call had begun to rise. One that every dragon who bowed to him heard. One that was familiar and at the same time completely different than the call the fallen queen used.
Her call grated upon the dragons' souls. Hiccup's call soothed his dragons. Her call sent jagged spikes into her followers' minds. Hiccup's call healed and mended the minds and souls of those who called him alpha. Hers overwhelmed her followers, keeping all at a state where they did not often think much past what she desired. Hiccup's shredded that tether and freed every dragon to be fully who they were.
[Shadowfire, will you mind walking me over to Skulder?]
[Knew it would go to your head!] Snotlout cried. [Hiccup, you lost a leg. That don't mean you can't walk on your own. You run on your own! Get down and walk.]
Hookfang lightly smacked his rider with his tail. "Hush, Snotlout. Alpha can't move away from Shadowfire right now."
So Hookfang heard it as well. Toothless glanced around the other dragons present that were of the nest. All nodded their heads.
/His power has grown./
Toothless turned to Silent, seeing Moondust face the Way-guard as well with her sensing lobes lifted. That Silent's low grumbles in the Old Tongue helped to drown out Snolout's demands that Hookfang explain, made Toothless grateful that his kind was given the power to hear the Way-guards speaking.
/Ask the young Tall-singer if he hears non-verbal calling or actual words. Please./
Toothless looked over at Shadowfire and made sure to keep the question in the Old Tongue. Shadowfire, his eyes still half opened and half closed, chittered a response as he carefully carried Hiccup closer to the polite human who seemed to know and understand how awesome dragons truly were. Toothless turned back to Silent and again stuck to the Old Tongue.
"He hears words. Alpha is speaking to him. I did not ask what those words were."
/It is good that you did not. Brother to the alpha you may be, you would have been scolded for doing so. That is between the Tall-singer and your alpha. The rest of you will soon experience the same./
"Honored Way-guard," Moondust began, also keeping to the Old Tongue and Toothless could have walked over and nuzzled her for that. "How is this possible?"
Silent faced her in his slow manner. Toothless wondered just how much the dragon could see with those eyes though Silent's gaze still landed upon Moondust with little problems.
/The full truth I cannot reveal right now. My friend is correct. Your alpha must follow the path. He must endure and pass the tests that await him. The power he wields demands that. Know this, he is not the first this was tried upon. /
"Are you sure it is wise to let them know that?" Onyxwing asked.
Toothless saw the other dragons, even Hookfang who just ignored Snotlout, look between Silent and Onyx before turning to look at Toothless. Toothless knew what they wanted. He would tell them all he had learned, after Silent explained what he just said. Toothless ruffled his wings, stretching them in a pattern the dragons would recognize and understand. Hiccup and his friends had started the hand signals, which aided them greatly when the winds howled while flying. They, then, taught them to the dragons they were around frequently.
Those same dragons took that system and adapted it for use with their wings. They had worked out a form both for in the air and on the ground. The Elders and those who were starting to work with Toothless as nest guards were also taught this wing signal as Sharpshot called it. At some point the entire nest would know it as well. At least that was the plan.
Stormfly and the others tipped their heads, understand and trusting Toothless to keep his word. They shuffled away so that Toothless could return to the conversation between Silent and Onyxwing. Toothless purred in gratitude. While he was always aware when hearing with either his ears or his lobes, one did take prominence over the other while in use.
/They must know, old friend. The full truth of how and why can be explained when your rider is able to meet their alpha, but they must know more than what we have given them. It is only right./
Onyxwing took a deep breath and then nodded his head, then lower his gaze to the stone under his paws. Toothless watched Sunburn pad over and nuzzle against Onyx. Onyx repsonded with a soft coo but did not lift his head.
/We have tried before with others of his line. All have failed before ever reaching this far. Some never got past the very first test your alpha endured./
"Why?" Toothless asked, his gaze snapping back to Silent.
In the back of his mind he kept the information about Hiccup having passed a test already. He would find out later what that test was even if he had to corner Silent, Sunburn, or Oynx in the lowers parts of his hatch nest and demand that answer. He had a feeling that right at this moment none of the three would tell him.
/Your alpha holds within him something they did not possess. Full love for all./
Kirika: Don't apologize for that. For one, it's your opinion and you have every right to have one. For two, it could be simply that google translate translated your words wrong. Modern technology isn't foolproof after all. And, hehe, that was Hiccup being Hiccup.
Literally Nobody: Hehe, it seemed like something Hiccup would do. And yep, Skulder is in for a shock. I absolutely love Skulder, even when he got my character in game in some rather tense situations. Though not on purpose, mind you. He just seemed like a magnet for bad luck in the game and since my character happened to be with him.. well, you get the idea. Have a good day/night as well.