Author's Note: Well, uh, yeah. The third arc isn't done yet, it seems. I'm as surprised as you are. We're taking a little detour, the scenic route, in order to rectify something my beta quite rightfully pointed out in a future chapter. Massive thanks to Fizzlemcschnizzle for flat-out telling me that chapter thirty felt like it was rushed lower quality work. Quite possibly the most beneficial thing he has pointed out yet. Chapter thirty has been split, trashed, and rewritten, resulting in the next three or four chapters you all will see. (And no, chapter thirty is not going in deleted/alternate scenes, as it was far too long and of low quality. It is all redone better here anyway.)

Another note, one I really should have seen coming. There seems to be some confusion as to the name Svarturflugmaður, specifically as to the letter 'ð'. This is entirely understandable. The letter ð actually has an equivalent in English, and can be replaced by 'th'. In pronunciation, note that it is the 'th' sound present in 'clothes', not the one in 'this'. There's actually a separate letter for that too, 'þ'.

So, Hiccup's new name is Svar-tur-flug-math-ur, to roughly sound it out. Of course, that's not his only name, or won't be for long. Toothless will probably object to such a long name, even if it is a nice one.

Hiccup woke to the glow of the sun. Something felt wrong about that. He looked up, his eyes still heavy, and saw a warm glow coming from the narrow passage connecting the cave to the outside.

Why did something feel wrong? He rolled over, noting with a small start of surprise that the events he had half assumed a dream were quite clearly not so imaginary. Toothless was next to him, a wing extended out of habit to provide cover, and Hiccup could see Svarturkló in a corner… snuggled up with another Fury. Svarturskuggi.

Not a dream. Reality. He really wasn't used to reality being better than a pleasant dream.

So, if this was reality, that wasn't Svarturkló over there, it was Cloey. She had liked that nickname he had given her, so he would use it. That was the custom, and as the saying went, when in Rome…

Although the creator of that particular saying probably hadn't been aware Romans used poisonous metal for piping. Maybe then they wouldn't have been so ready to copy the Romans.

Hiccup decided he too could use a new name. His old name wouldn't fly among the Furies, so being an adopted son of Cloey and Svarturskuggi, they named him Svarturflugmaður. It would take time to start thinking of himself as such, but that was fine.

When in Rome… Svarturflugmaður recalled that the Night Furies here stuck to a nocturnal schedule. Given that he still felt wiped out, he did not mind trying to stick to that at all. It was very clearly day at the moment, so he could just go back to sleep.

That was not at all a bad way to start his new life. Sleeping in.

Actually waking up and beginning the night was a quiet affair. Toothless had nudged him awake when everyone else began getting up. There was no Night Fury alarm like the one Toothless had demonstrated on the sea stack months ago, and while Cloey and Svarturskuggi were awake, they were quiet.

"Not exactly morning people, are they bud? Well, night people. You know what I mean." That inversion of sayings was going to take some getting used to.

'I do,' Toothless answered. 'So, what do you think of this place?' He looked around.

"The cave?" Hiccup, or Svarturflugmaður as he remembered to call himself, asked slyly. "Rocky, surprisingly soft moss…"

'No, the island.' Toothless looked over at the exit. 'I want to explore.'

"I'm with you on that." Svarturflugmaður stood. "Maybe food first?"

'Yes, food.' Toothless glanced over at Svarturskuggi. 'Hey, uh…' He seemed to be struggling with something. '...Svarturskuggi?' He finished abruptly.

'Yes?' Svarturskuggi glanced over with a bemused expression on his face.

'Is there anything we should know about fishing or how meals work?' It was a good question.

Svarturskuggi rumbled consideringly. 'Yes, actually. Von and I usually alternate bringing food back, but now that there are more of us-'

'We've got it.' Toothless practically dragged Svarturflugmaður out of the cave in his enthusiasm.

"Woah!" Svarturflugmaður skidded to a stop just outside the cave. "What's got into you?" Toothless was still almost vibrating in excitement, casting furtive glances towards the ocean, which really meant looking in any direction but back towards the cave.

'Sorry Hiccup, I…' Toothless grimaced. 'I want to make a good impression and this seemed like a good way. He's my father, can you blame me?'

"No…" He trailed off as he understood. That was a feeling that he knew far too well. He also knew that it wasn't exactly the best feeling, all in all. "Okay, I get it. It's a good idea. But you should calm down...a little," Svarturflugmaður finished with a smile. "Let's go."

About half an hour later, Toothless and the newly named Svarturflugmaður returned, laden with fish. Svarturflugmaður in particular was weighed down with a sharpened stick, upon which many fish were speared, a way to transport enough to feed four Night Furies in one trip. They entered the cave to find Cloey and Svarturvon talking quietly, Svarturskuggi watching with interest.

'Fish for four and a half,' Toothless declared proudly.

"I resent that." Svarturflugmaður gestured to himself. "I eat way less than you do. It should be 'fish for four and a tenth.' If I ate half of what you did every day, I'd be too heavy for you to carry." Light banter came easily, but the mood of the cave was solemn. Nevertheless, Svarturskuggi purred softly in amusement.

Cloey glanced over at them before continuing with whatever she was saying to Svarturvon. Svarturflugmaður decided it was probably a private conversation, and tried not to eavesdrop.

That became hard not a moment later when Svarturvon visibly wilted. Cloey seemed concerned, as if that had not been the reaction she was expecting.

'You didn't even ask me first.' That was louder than the rest of the conversation, and everyone in the cave heard it clearly. Svarturvon quickly left, averting everyone's inquiring stare.

'What was that about?' Toothless appeared confused, looking from Cloey to the cave exit.

'She did not take it very well.' Cloey didn't meet Toothless's eyes. 'I had hoped…'

Now it made sense. "Uh, Cloey…" Svarturflugmaður began, "I had kind of assumed you'd wait a while before telling everyone." The adoption had been nice, but somehow he hadn't thought it would go into effect immediately, given half of the family he was being adopted into barely knew him.

'You did?' Cloey looked at Svarturskuggi, who shrugged. She moaned softly. 'I guess I didn't really think about that.'

'It is understandable,' Svarturskuggi said neutrally, 'given you have already accepted him. I have agreed to give him a chance, so it does not bother me. Von, on the other hand… you did not ask her first?' He seemed genuinely surprised. 'I was under the impression you had.'

Cloey shook her head. 'I did not, though I see I should have.'

That was not at all what Svarturflugmaður wanted to hear. "Well, it's a little late now…" He would just have to win Svarturvon over. This just made that a little harder.

'What are we talking about?' Toothless was no longer content to listen in confusion. 'Someone explain.'

Now Svarturflugmaður was really surprised. "You didn't tell him either?"

Cloey whined in embarrassment. 'I was going to!' She met Toothless's eyes. 'Skuggi and I have adopted Hiccup, and I have given him the name Svarturflugmaður, which he accepted.'

Toothless's eyes went wide. 'So…' He looked over at Svarturflugmaður. 'My best friend is adopted into my family by my mother and father…'

"Yes…" Svarturflugmaður was worried by Toothless's flat tone. It was impossible to tell what Toothless thought of that.

'...and I'm the last one in the family to know?' There was a hint of surprise there.

'I think it is safe to say your mother might go about things differently if given the chance to do them over.' Svarturskuggi dryly remarked. Cloey nodded emphatically.

'Well…' Toothless paused. 'I mean, I definitely don't mind, this just makes how I already thought of him official," and at that Svarturflugmaður's admittedly baseless worries lifted, 'but why didn't you think to ask?'

'Generally, it is the choice of the parents,' Svarturskuggi explained, 'though it is clear that this was a special case.'

'And now I have hurt Von.' Cloey shook her head sadly. 'I was stupid, thinking she would be fine with this so soon.'

"Hey, it's not unfixable." Svarturflugmaður turned to the exit. "I'll go-"

'Brother,' Toothless said quickly, 'let me go. I don't think you're the problem, and you talking to her first might not help.'

"Okay, I trust you." Svarturflugmaður smiled. "Brother."

'Strange, really, hearing that and knowing that it's official.' Toothless tilted his head. 'Svarturflugmaður? Black Flier? It's a good name… if long.' A thoughtful expression passed across Toothless's face.

"Better than Hiccup," Svarturflugmaður asserted quickly.

'Yes, but…' Toothless shook his head. 'Later. Right now,' he turned to Svarturskuggi, 'is there anywhere Svarturvon likes to go?'

'There is a pond at the base of the mountain, you can't miss it if you fly close.' Svarturskuggi's eyes narrowed. 'If you intend to scold her, you may as well forget it.'

'I'm not that stupid,' Toothless complained before realizing who he was talking to. 'Uh, I mean… I'd better go catch up to her!' With that, he darted out of the cave.

Svarturskuggi blinked, confused. 'Is he always like that?'

Cloey shook her head. 'No, not usually. Tonight has been different, and I don't really know why.'

Svarturflugmaður was faced with a dilemma as the two Furies discussed Toothless's behavior. He sat out of the way, trying to figure out what was right.

Should he tell Svarturskuggi Toothless was trying to impress him and had no real clue as to how to go about that, which made him act skittish and strange? Or would that be betraying his brother's trust?

Well, at the moment Toothless was interfering on Svarturflugmaður's behalf… Surely this was something similar. Fair was fair.

"Svarturskuggi," Svarturflugmaður interjected, drawing the attention of both dragons, "I think Toothless isn't really sure how to gain your approval." A slightly different wording.

'Really?' Svarturskuggi responded immediately, to Svarturflugmaður's surprise. 'Why?'

Cloey snorted. 'Because you're the mythical father he grew up wondering about?' She grinned sheepishly. 'The one I might have described every once in a while? The queen did not permit us to talk about the outside world, but that didn't cover hypotheticals. I'm sure he's made the connection by now.'

Svarturskuggi laughed, a deep rumbling sound that shook his body. 'I'm sure he must have quite the exaggerated picture in his mind by now, in that case. You are quite generous in your assessments of me.' He shook his head. 'He must think me all-knowing and wise, as well as strong and powerful.'

Cloey must have caught some hidden reference Svarturflugmaður was not privy to, because that simple statement made her whine in embarrassment. 'How do you still remember that?!'

'When one's mate compliments one so highly… and then disappears later on… that is what convinced me you did not just leave voluntarily, or find another, better mate.' Svarturskuggi nuzzled Cloey. 'How could I forget?'

Svarturflugmaður began to wonder if he should give them some privacy.

Svarturskuggi turned his attention back to Svarturflugmaður. 'But that is not true. I am as flawed as any, weaker than many.'

'Still wise beyond your years,' Cloey argued.

'And how would we know that?' Svarturskuggi stretched, rising from his seated position. 'We do not have a good example old age to draw a comparison to. Myrkureyðileggingu may be old, but no one sane calls him wise.'

'He is a Myrkur, no one calls them wise at all, age notwithstanding.' Cloey laughed, her tone light. 'And Eldurs are knowledgeable, but that is not the same thing.'

'Togi, maybe.' Svarturskuggi seemed to be considering it. 'He is smarter than me.'

'At some things.' Cloey's voice became sharper. 'You are more tolerant,' she deliberately glanced at Svarturflugmaður, 'for one thing. One of many things.'

'True. But you and I both know this particular case is not a fair judge of his character.' Svarturskuggi sighed. 'He has his reasons. You remember.'

'Like yesterday.' Cloey shivered. 'But what are you going to do about your son?'

"What? Oh, right.' Svarturskuggi walked over to Svarturflugmaður and after a moment of hesitation lightly bumped him with his snout. 'Thank you for explaining.'

'Not the son I meant,' Cloey remarked, though there was satisfaction and surprise in her voice.

Svarturflugmaður was a bit shocked. Cloey had taken months to get to a point where she voluntarily touched him, trusted him that much. Maybe it was Svarturskuggi's personality, or where they were, or simply because his mate vouched for Svarturflugmaður, but it was still surprising.

That brought to mind exactly what Svarturskuggi had done for him. He had said earlier that he had agreed to give Svarturflugmaður a chance, but this was well beyond that. This was…

The only equivalent Svarturflugmaður could think of was if he had introduced Toothless to Stoick, and Stoick had accepted him with open arms. Inconceivable.

Or the way he wished things could have been? Svarturskuggi was beginning to look like how Svarturflugmaður wished Stoick had been. Tolerant, understanding, subtle instead of brash.

That thought struck a chord. 'Svarturskuggi, thank you.' Svarturflugmaður impulsively leaped up and hugged Svarturskuggi.

Svarturskuggi did not flinch, but he did bark in shock, causing Svarturflugmaður to let go and back away a bit. After a moment, Svarturskuggi warbled curiously. 'I assume that was not an attack?'

Svarturflugmaður realized how what he had done could be interpreted. He blushed. "No, not at all! It's a gesture of thanks, not aggressive at all!" At least, not when he did it. Some Viking hugs would probably kill smaller dragons, and suffocating the enemy was not unheard of in tales of battle.

Cloey snorted. 'Then be thankful Skuggi does not react quickly.'

'I react quickly enough!' Skuggi shot back at her. 'But yes, that was a dangerous thing to do. Next time I will be less surprised.' That was said consolingly.

"At least there might be a next time," Svarturflugmaður noted. "Really, thank you. For everything."

'You are welcome. I believe I made the right decision.' Svarturskuggi inclined his head.

With that little incident over, Svarturflugmaður tried to return to his previous train of thought. There was something else, something surprising...After a moment he had it.

"Svarturskuggi, you understand me?" Svarturflugmaður had noted that Svarturskuggi did not wait for Cloey to translate earlier.

'Well, I have spent time around humans, many years ago. All of my generation here has. But I did not think I did, and I truly had not thought about it, simply taking your speaking in a way I know for granted.' He shook his head. 'Odd. I suppose that must be it. Your language, when one understands, certainly is unique.' That seemed to be all he was willing to say.

'Don't forget, you need to talk to Kappi.' Cloey reminded Svarturskuggi as she stood, her wings flaring out in a stretch, barely missing a wall. 'Are you doing anything tonight?'

'I have cave duty tonight,' Svarturskuggi admitted with a growl. 'We are expanding the Eldur section. It is slow, boring work.'

'Perfect.' Cloey purred. 'Bring your son with you. That sounds like a lot of time to talk.'

Svarturskuggi laughed. 'That it is, if nothing else.'

Svarturflugmaður resisted the urge to check in on Toothless as the minutes went by. It felt wrong to intrude on what was probably a private conversation, at least if he knew it was going on. He and Toothless were going to have to come up with some rules or procedures now that they were around other people. The link was great, but privacy was sometimes important.

It could be worse. If Cloey had been shot down that night, and all of this reversed, the current situation would be a thousand times more embarrassing. At least Svarturflugmaður didn't have to worry about what he might see if he randomly checked in on Toothless's perspective. There were some things better left unknown.

That line of thought kept him occupied, if nothing else. A while later, possibly half an hour, Toothless returned, followed by Svarturvon. She did not look in Svarturflugmaður's direction, but her head was hanging, and her ears flat against her skull, the picture of embarrassment or shame.

'Mom,' Toothless began, 'you really should have asked us first.'

'I know,' Cloey admitted, whining softly, 'I just didn't think, I was stupid.'

'I know you didn't mean it, mom,' Svarturvon admitted sadly. 'It was just a shock.' She looked uncomfortable, as if there was more she wasn't saying. 'And Svarturflugmaður,' Svarturvon continued quietly, 'I want to talk to you.'

"Okay." Svarturflugmaður stood, approaching Svarturvon. "Here, or..?"

'Follow me.' Svarturvon left the cave once again, Svarturflugmaður behind her. He heard Svarturskuggi call Toothless over before his brother could follow, presumably to put his own plan into motion. It seemed today was a day to clear the air.

Svarturvon began to walk into the forest, slowing so that Svarturflugmaður could walk beside her. It was a quiet night, and a clear one. The stars shone through the tree cover.

'I've never even seen a human before,' Svarturvon began without warning, her voice sad and quiet. 'I've heard stories, but that was it. Dad is overprotective.'

'I think I understand that.' Losing one's pregnant wife out of the blue one day would definitely do it. Though, Svarturflugmaður thought bitterly, losing Valka had not triggered the same in Stoick.

'Really overprotective. He made me learn to fight.' Svarturvon shook her head. 'Not like every fledgling learns. He taught me for years, long past when other fledglings were done with the basics. I thought I was just slower than everyone else.'

"But he was teaching you..?" This was an interesting story, but Svarturflugmaður wasn't sure where Svarturvon was going with it.

'Everything, including how to kill, which we don't usually teach fledglings at all.' Svarturvon sighed. 'Not as a first resort, but still. He taught me everything he knew. I hate using it, but part of me is grateful he cared enough to make me learn anyway.'

That was a bit ominous. "You don't seem like the brawling type."

'I'm not. I don't think I'll ever use most of it.' Svarturvon carefully stepped past a flower, avoiding crushing it underfoot.

They walked in silence for a few moments. Svarturflugmaður realized something as they did, and felt like slapping himself in the face. Svarturvon had just flat-out proven she shouldn't understand a word he said, and yet here they were, talking like it was totally normal.

Something clicked in his head at that fact. Svarturskuggi had been surprised. Nótteinfari had seemed confused by something, and reacted before Toothless could translate. Even Nóttleiðtogi had understood him.

But he still couldn't talk to Toothless mentally. That was immensely ironic. Svarturflugmaður could talk to any dragon and be understood, but he had to speak to do it. The whole point of trying to talk to Toothless non-verbally was so that he wouldn't have to speak out loud.

How long had he been able to do this? Really, it could have been a while. He still couldn't feel himself doing anything different, and Toothless and Cloey had understood him anyway, already knowing enough Norse to comprehend him. Everyone here on this island must have taken it for granted, and not mentioned it.

Now he felt really stupid, especially remembering that entire speech the night before, and how Toothless had repeated everything he said. They must have looked like fools. Really, what did all of the Night Furies think Toothless was trying to accomplish?

Ah well, best not to dwell on that. At least now things would be a lot less complicated. Talking to and hearing any dragon, as he was now capable of doing, was definitely a plus when living on an island full of them.

Svarturflugmaður realized that they had been walking in silence as he made his belated discovery, and tried to recover the thread of this likely important conversation. 'I thought Cloey had already asked you.'

'Apparently, she didn't even ask my real brother.' Svarturvon flinched, flattening a small shrub with her tail out of frustration. 'Sorry, that came out wrong. I don't dislike you, it's just…'

"I get it." Svarturflugmaður sighed, pushing a branch out of his way. "I'd probably feel the same in your place." Really, they were more similar than he had originally thought. He chuckled.

'What?' Svarturvon glanced at him, her eyes wide.

"An only child who lost their mother at a young age, raised by a single father." Svarturflugmaður frowned. "I'd say Svarturskuggi handled it much better. Regardless, I think I can understand how you feel."

'Really?' Svarturvon turned, heading towards the center of the island. 'That's… nice, I guess.' Her voice was uncertain.

"I know I wouldn't like being left in the dark, regardless of how I felt about the person in question." Svarturflugmaður decided to take a few shots in the dark. "I probably wouldn't know how to act around them, or whether going along with it is like saying my own opinion didn't matter anyway. Add that to the fact that everyone else seems to be okay with it, and I'd probably feel bad about it no matter what I did."

Svarturvon stopped, staring at Svarturflugmaður with wide eyes. 'You really do understand.'

"Too bad that doesn't extend to knowing how to fix it." Svarturflugmaður smiled sadly. "I'm open to ideas."

'I'd feel like an even bigger jerk,' Svarturvon muttered, flicking her ears in frustration.

"What?" That sounded promising.

'Forget it, it's not right.' Svarturvon shook her head. 'It's not fair to you.'

"I'll be the judge of that." Svarturflugmaður was interested to hear what Svarturvon thought would at once make Cloey's oversight okay and be unfair to him.

'Well, mom didn't ask me…' Svarturvon faltered, but continued after a moment. 'I was going to say you're not my brother until I say so, but that's just petty, not to mention rude!'

Svarturflugmaður smiled. "Not if I understand why. It sounds fair to me." Really, that was about as fair as it got.

'You're… okay with it?' Svarturvon seemed shocked.

"I understand." Svarturflugmaður shrugged. "How can I not be? Besides, I really don't think you want to disown me permanently. This is just a way for you to not feel powerless, which is fair enough." Really, he was kind of sacrificing to fix Cloey's mistake, but he didn't mind, as long as things between him, Svarturvon, and the rest of the family weren't strained. He was getting second chance at having a family, and it was not going to be anything less than perfect if he could help it.

'Well… okay.' Svarturvon grimaced. 'I still feel bad about it.'

"Well then, we had better get to know each other quickly." Svarturflugmaður continued walking, now leading the way into the deepest part of the forest. "Oh, and you should probably take the lead, I have no idea where we're going."

As his new brother and sister left the cave together, Toothless felt the urge to follow. He made to do so, only to be blocked by Svarturskuggi's tail, which was in the way.

'I was going to go along with them, to make sure…' To make sure Hiccup didn't mess it up, because tagging along through sight and hearing would be sneaky, while physically being around would not. No, to make sure Svarturflugmaður didn't mess it up. That was going to take a little getting used to, but he liked it.

Svarturskuggi laughed. 'Allow them time to work things out, privately. I wanted you to come with me today.'

Perfect, a chance to show his father what he could do! Toothless almost barked in happiness, but quickly suppressed that. After an entire life of having no father, he didn't want to embarass himself.

Ideally, he wanted Svarturskuggi to be proud of him. That was a tall order considering his father knew nothing about him, but surely there had to be an easy way to prove himself. 'What are we doing? Hunting? Fishing?' Something, anything to-

'Actually, we're expanding the caves.' Svarturskuggi began to walk away. 'Follow me.'

Oh. That seemed less like something he could impress Svarturskuggi with. Toothless deflated a bit, and followed his father deeper into the caves.

As they walked, Svarturskuggi chuffed. 'You killed a massive dragon and stopped a war.'

Yes, he did. 'Mom and Hic-Svarturflugmaður helped.' He'd just barely remembered the new name that time.

'But you were a part of that. A big part.' Svarturskuggi laughed. 'I have done nothing quite so impressive.'

Wait, what? 'I don't understand…'

'A little Terror told me you might feel like you have to impress me.' They walked into the large central cavern from the day before.

'I…' It wasn't like he could deny it. He made a mental note to "thank" his brother for telling Svarturskuggi. Maybe an appreciative barrage of licking. Svarturflugmaður seemed to love that. He finalized his planning of revenge with that decision.

'You already have.' Svarturskuggi led him into another set of caves, and towards a side cavern. 'I could not be any more impressed. But it doesn't matter.'

'Why not?' Toothless was curious now.

'You are my son. I'm not going to…' Svarturskuggi grimaced. 'Well, disown you. Not the best example.'

'Yeah, no.' Toothless winced.

'Anyway, you don't have to try to impress me. I'm not that shallow.' Svarturskuggi shrugged his wing-shoulders. 'I might have to impress you though.' There was a hint of a teasing tone in his voice.

'What?!' Toothless responded without thought. 'No you don't, that's ridiculous!' He couldn't have said why he felt that, but he did. It just didn't sound right.

'I think I do,' Svarturskuggi warbled, 'because my son turned out to be so awesome. Nothing I do could possibly compare-'

'Okay, I get it!' Toothless whined dramatically, covering his ears with his front paws, though he had to stop walking and sit on his hind legs to do it. 'No one needs to impress anyone!'

'Perfect.' Svarturskuggi purred evilly. 'You fold under the slightest pressure.' His tone was still light and playful.

'No…' Toothless saw what his father was doing. 'I can't win this discussion.' That was apparent.

'To be fair,' a new voice interrupted, 'few of us can beat your father in a war of words.' A familiar Night Fury with grey eyes stepped out of the side passage they had stopped at.

'Togi,' Svarturskuggi greeted him civilly. 'I thought it was Nóttskarpur's turn today?'

'I needed to blow off some smoke.' Nóttleiðtogi eyed Toothless. 'I see you are bringing your son today?'

'Yes, I am.' Svarturskuggi glanced at the side cavern. 'This is not the best way to rid yourself of frustrations, you know.'

'Yes, but it is the only option available at present.' Nóttleiðtogi grimaced. 'I would speak to you privately, Skuggi.'

'Yes, you would.' Svarturskuggi growled softly. 'But we both know how that conversation is going to go, so there's no real reason to have it, is there?'

'Do we?' Nóttleiðtogi seemed unsure how to take that. 'Good.' He glanced over at Toothless. 'There are some things that probably shouldn't be spoken here anyway.'

'Maybe not, it appears.' Svarturskuggi sighed. 'Friend, I trust my mate.'

'More than your own common sense?!' Nóttleiðtogi dropped all attempts at appearing calm. 'You know what is at stake!'

'I know what is at stake,' Svarturskuggi replied evenly, 'but I trust her all the same. Do you think me easy to fool?'

'No, but-' Nóttleiðtogi didn't seem to like admitting that.

'Then trust that I am capable of making sure no harm comes to us, if you do not trust Svarturkló's judgment.' Svarturskuggi cut Nóttleiðtogi's words off with a short snarl. 'I am not endangering anyone here, but I will not throw away the life of another for no reason either.'

Toothless remained silent, knowing that to interfere would not be taken well by either of the older dragons. The way they spoke told of long familiarity, possibly even friendship, however strained at the moment. It was not a quarrel so much as a disagreement. He knew interfering was a bad idea, but it was hard when Nóttleiðtogi was so clearly against Svarturflugmaður.

'I cannot trust it,' Nóttleiðtogi growled, pawing at the stone floor.

Toothless growled, incensed. 'He is not an it.'

Neither of the older dragons seemed to notice, now locked in something of a staring contest.

'I do not ask you to,' Svarturskuggi responded, much to Toothless's surprise. 'Simply prepare for all possibilities, as you always do, mentally as well as physically.'

'You give me leave to-'

Svarturskuggi cut him off. 'To prepare, and no more. To watch and use logic, to see things as they are, not as you would assume they are. I do not truly know the truth, but I will be doing the same, and so far what I see is good.'

'Not for long, I think.' Nóttleiðtogi snarled, walking away now. 'If it comes near my family with the slightest hint of threat, there will not be enough of it left for anyone else to be sure what happened.' With that ominous threat, he disappeared from sight, rounding a sharp corner. An enraged snarl echoed throughout the caves. Toothless would make sure that if Nóttleiðtogi ever tried anything, that threat would apply to the grey-eyed dragon instead.

'Well, it appears it will be just us.' Svarturskuggi chuckled. 'Come on.' He disappeared inside the side-passage, seemingly unworried by Nóttleiðtogi's words.

Toothless lingered for a moment, trying to sort through his thoughts. Nóttleiðtogi was a mystery, and Toothless's father not much less of one. Life here was not starting out simple, that was for sure.

"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Svarturflugmaður asked as he hopped a fallen tree.

'Fun?' Svarturvon glanced at Svarturflugmaður skeptically. 'Well, there are the other dragons. Sometimes we play games.'

"Do these other dragons include any who might want me dead?" It was a good question. On that note, how many dragons actually wanted him gone? Hopefully just the ones with grey eyes.

'Probably not…' Svarturvon shook her head. 'But if Joy is involved, Einfari or Nóttreiði might be around, so I can't be sure.'

Svarturflugmaður went over who those names belonged to. Nóttreiði was the one that had tried to kill him the night before… after it had been agreed that he could stay. Best to stay away from that one for the time being. "Maybe not a good idea then."

'I swim in the pond, sometimes,' Svarturvon volunteered. 'And run, but you wouldn't be able to-'

"Keep up?" Svarturflugmaður grinned. "Probably better than you would think."

'I'm really fast,' Svarturvon admitted. 'I like to run.'

"All the more fun." Svarturflugmaður began overdramatically stretching. "Let's see just how fast you are."

Svarturvon rumbled in amusement. 'Okay.' She oriented herself towards one side of the large mountain that dominated one side of the island, not quite towards the caves they had left. 'To the pond. You can't miss it, it's in this direction.'

"Go!" Svarturflugmaður burst into a run, ignoring Svarturvon's bark of surprise. "I'm going to need all the help I can get!" He called back to her.

'Yeah,' she panted, closing the gap, 'you are.' Her movement was more fluid than anything Svarturflugmaður had seen Toothless or Cloey do, almost serpentine in the way she threaded through the tangled terrain.

"Uh oh." Svarturvon was really good. She passed him with ease, disappearing into the undergrowth ahead. Svarturflugmaður tried to catch up, but it was a lost cause.

The pond, when he made it there, was quite nice. It was directly set against the base of a small sheer rock wall, which was concave so that a full half of the pond was bordered by the edge of the mountain. The other half had a small piece of rocky beach, but most of the edge of the pond was covered in tangled trees. It was a quiet, shadowed place, one that felt peaceful. Svarturvon stood by the edge, looking out into the forest.

"You're… really… good," Svarturflugmaður panted, his hands on his knees. "Really, really good."

'Thank you.' Svarturvon purred softly. 'You are good too.'

"Clearly not." Svarturflugmaður straightened. "I need way more practice."

Svarturvon shrugged noncommittally. 'What do you think of this place?' she asked, nodding towards the pond. There was a hint of apprehension in her voice.

"It's nice," Svarturflugmaður idly commented, taking in the view. "Really nice. It almost reminds me of the cove." That was more atmosphere than anything. Peace, solitude. Hidden, in a way, though not nearly as hidden as the cove had been. "Do other dragons come here often?"

'No,' Svarturvon shook her head. 'The Myrkurs know they're not supposed to mess with me here.' There seemed to be a story behind that, judging by Svarturvon's tone. 'Einfari, rarely, but she knows it's kind of my place.'

"Yours?" Svarturflugmaður could hear something in Svarturvon's voice again. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was there.

'A while ago, some of us stopped hanging around the Myrkurs.' Svarturvon shrugged. 'Myrkursprenging and Myrkursprengja are okay now, but back then they were a bit over-the-top. So around that time, I got Einfari and Eldurhjarta to help me make this place off-limits to them, as sort of a trick-free zone.' Svarturvon sounded uncomfortable. 'When the Myrkurs got the message and toned it down, Eldurhjarta and Einfari didn't really see the need for it. So it's mine, now.'

There was a hidden message there, one Svarturflugmaður only heard through experience. "But I'm betting you really didn't want to just hang around here alone, so when they stopped showing up…"

'Exactly.' Svarturvon nodded. 'This is just a nice place to swim or relax now, not particularly special.'

Svarturflugmaður was starting to build up a picture of Svarturvon's life. It wasn't a particularly bad one, but not that great either. "Any friends now?"

'Einfari,' Svarturvon immediately replied. Then she seemed to remember who she was talking to. 'She's not that bad, usually, it's just that you're-'

"The scariest one on this island, it seems." Svarturflugmaður chuckled. "Never thought I'd see the day."

'Well, not to most of us.' Svarturvon squinted at Svarturflugmaður. 'And you look nothing like the stories.' She poked inquisitively at Svarturflugmaður's arms. 'These should be bigger.' Then she looked pointedly at his head. 'And where are the horns?'

Svarturflugmaður chuckled. 'We don't have horns, those aren't real. And I'm a bit smaller than most.' That was an understatement. "Believe me, I know I don't look like everyone else." Svarturflugmaður took another look at the pond, considering why Svarturvon had brought them there. "It's a little cold to swim."

'Not for me,' Svarturvon sat down, 'but I don't really want to.'

Svarturflugmaður counted that in itself as progress, if Svarturvon wanted to stay around him. "I didn't think dragons swam all that much."

'We don't, because we're pretty bad at it.' Svarturvon shook a front paw. 'These are not good for keeping afloat, and our wings don't help. But I like it, even if I am bad at it.'

"So what do you want to do?" Svarturflugmaður smiled at her, sitting down on the banks of the pond himself.

'Well… I did have a few questions.' Svarturvon warbled curiously. 'Is it true humans can pop dragon heads off with their paws?'

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's an exaggeration…" Svarturflugmaður began sheepishly, knowing that a rumor had passed around Berk involving Stoick doing exactly that… as a baby.

As they talked, Svarturflugmaður correcting or in a few cases confirming the tangled mass of ideas Svarturvon had about humans, he began to get an idea of just how many stories Svarturvon had heard. Then it came out that none of her generation, save for the Myrkurs, had ever even seen a human, or a village. Stories really were all they had to go on, which explained Svarturvon's lack of fear.

Svarturflugmaður really didn't look like a human to the younger dragons. That was ironic. They only recognized him as such because he could talk, and humans were the only non-dragon figures in the stories even close to that smart.

Time passed, and neither of them suggested leaving, though Svarturflugmaður did at one point check in with Toothless, who was staring at a stone wall and talking to Svarturskuggi. Things seemed to be going well there, so he left them to it.

Svarturvon became far more open and enthusiastic as the night wore on, shedding the cover of shyness by degrees.

Eventually though, Toothless accessed Svarturflugmaður's senses. Svarturflugmaður held up a hand, letting Svarturvon know something was up. "Toothless,' he said for Svarturvon's benefit, "What's up?"

'Well, I figured you two might want to know that we're all eating together in a few minutes.' Toothless's voice became sly. 'Did she apologize?'

"Really bud, that's all you want to know?" Svarturflugmaður laughed. "We've worked things out." Although explaining to the others that Svarturvon wasn't accepting Svarturflugmaður as a brother until she wanted to might be a bit tense. It did sound petty and rude unless one thought it through.

'Can he see me?' Svarturvon stared into Svarturflugmaður's eyes curiously.

"Yup." Svarturflugmaður knew Toothless was looking through his eyes. "And he can probably hear you too."

'Yes, I can.' Toothless confirmed. Svarturflugmaður relayed that.

'Weird.' Svarturvon stood. 'Do they want us back?'

"Yes. We'll be there soon, Toothless." Svarturflugmaður considered the distance. "A few minutes."

'Or a few seconds..?' Svarturvon inquired quietly.

"You would carry me?" That really was unexpected. After spending months getting Cloey's trust, these quick improvements on the parts of Svarturskuggi and Svarturvon were really disorienting. Having two family members vouch for one made things really easy, it seemed. Or maybe he was just getting better at it, though the Nótt family seemed to disprove that theory.

'My brother does,' was her answer. 'And I like you.' She warbled sheepishly. 'You understand me.'

That, Svarturflugmaður didn't say, was because he knew what being an only child with no mother was like, though that didn't make it untrue. "If you're really okay with it…"

'I wonder how things went with them,' Toothless remarked casually to Svarturskuggi, who was standing beside him, watching the forest.

'That very likely depends on what you said to Von,' Svarturskuggi remarked.

'Just that while I really think mom should have asked her, it isn't that she didn't care. She genuinely forgot. Svarturvon shouldn't feel hurt about that.' There had been a little more, but that was mostly commiserating with Svarturvon, so that she wouldn't feel singled out… and maybe to set a better example. If both of them were slighted, and Toothless casually noted it and dismissed it as an honest mistake, it was more likely Svarturvon would feel like she should do the same.

'That's good.' Svarturskuggi glanced up, and then did a quick double-take. 'Either you were less successful than you thought and she has left him to walk back alone, or Svarturflugmaður is far more effective than I would have guessed.'

'Wha-' Toothless saw Svarturvon angle down towards them, a shallow incline to allow Svarturflugmaður to hold on with no saddle. 'I never doubted him.' That was pretty much Svarturflugmaður in a nutshell. Leave him with a neutral dragon for a day, and he returns with her voluntarily carrying him.

It was getting easier to think of him as Svarturflugmaður in his head, but Toothless still thought the name was too long for casual use. He still needed to find a way around that.

'Where's mom?' Svarturvon inquired as she landed and Svarturflugmaður hopped off.

'Getting food.' Svarturskuggi grimaced. 'She feels very bad about this, just so you know.'

'I know,' Svarturvon admitted, looking slightly guilty. 'I might have overreacted a little.'

'Well, just be sure you let her know,' Svarturskuggi admonished gently. 'Put all of this to rest as completely as possible. Little remnants of bad feelings can fester if left untreated.'

"Speaking of which, Toothless," Svarturflugmaður began, "What were you doing this morning?"

'What?' Toothless searched his memories of the morning, but could find nothing unusual.

"You watched me and Svarturvon walk off… without a translator." Svarturflugmaður grinned. "A pretty pointless exercise if she can't understand a word I'm saying, wouldn't you agree? I'm the first human she's ever seen."

'But… I…' Toothless's mind felt broken, like he had slipped in midair and didn't know which way was up. Svarturflugmaður couldn't talk to Svarturvon, but he had been talking to Svarturvon, but he shouldn't be able to…

"Also, on a related note, I can apparently talk to any dragon." Svarturflugmaður shook his head wryly. "As long as I speak what I want to say out loud, they hear me in their minds too, as best I can tell."

That solved Toothless's internal conflict. 'Oh!' Then he realized the implications of that, and drooped. 'You've been doing it for a while?' It made sense. That was embarrassing.

At that moment, Cloey dropped in, bearing fish and a guilty expression.

Svarturvon nipped that in the bud immediately. 'Mom, I'm sorry.'

Cloey dropped the fish she had been carrying, and also dropped a very familiar stick, upon which fish were clumsily speared. It appeared the stick worked even if one was not a human. 'For what? It's my fault.'

'For overreacting.' Svarturvon met her mother's eyes. 'It was an honest mistake, and Svarturflugmaður and I have worked it out.'

'Dare I ask?' Svarturskuggi took a fish, pulling it off of the stick with a purr. Toothless followed suit.

Svarturvon looked down, seeming embarrassed. 'It sounds bad, but…'

"We agreed I won't be her brother until she wants me to." Svarturflugmaður said quickly. "She gets to make the call herself, just like everyone else here."

There was a moment of silence. Toothless decided to break it. 'Sounds fair.'

That seemed to dissolve the tension in the air. Toothless wondered, as they ate, just how long it would take Svarturvon. Knowing Svarturflugmaður, he was betting on under a week.

After Svarturvon left the cave, Toothless decided to make things interesting. 'Two fish says Svarturvon comes around in under a week,' he announced to the cave.

Cloey chuckled. 'She seems strong and independent. You're on. I say more than a week.'

"Do I get to bet?' Svarturflugmaður asked.

'No, because you're the one who is able to influence the outcome.' Toothless warbled in amusement. 'I'll share my prize, if you try extra-hard.'

'No bribery!' Cloey cried out in mock disgust.

The echoes of good-natured laughter resounded throughout the caverns.

Time passed. Svarturflugmaður and Toothless spent a few more days exclusively with Svarturvon, just getting used to her and learning all they could about her. She definitely didn't seem to mind the attention, though she wasn't vain or prideful.

The decision Svarturvon had been given back seemed to be weighing on her more every night. Svarturflugmaður felt a little bad about that, though he knew it wasn't really his fault if she was feeling pressured. Really, there had been no perfect way to do any of this after Cloey had made the decision, but that was life. Imperfect.

Six days after that first night, during the first meal of the day, the one they all shared, Svarturvon took Svarturflugmaður aside.

'I'm ready,' was all she said.

"Cool." Svarturflugmaður smiled, and held out a hand to her. "Sister?"

'Brother,' she confirmed, her nose touching his hand for a moment.

That was all it took. Svarturflugmaður knew without looking that everyone else was watching.

Toothless butted in, literally, his head nudging Svarturflugmaður to the side. 'Six days. I win.'

'Win?' Svarturvon asked curiously. 'Win what?'

'Two fish,' Toothless announced proudly, 'for betting that you'd come around in less than a week.'

'Who says you won?' Cloey asked. 'Six nights, plus the night we got here. That's a week, and you said less than one.'

'The first night doesn't count!' Toothless looked up imploringly at Svarturflugmaður. 'I won, right?'

'No one wins this bet on my decision,' Svarturvon announced. 'I say that it took me exactly a week, meaning neither of you win.'

Cloey and Toothless both groaned in frustration.

'Where were you getting the fish, anyway?' Svarturvon asked with a purr. 'We get fish all the time, and they're not exactly a valuable resource, when there's so many of them so close by.'

Toothless looked crestfallen. 'I hadn't thought of that…'

'We'll think of something better to bet with next time,' Cloey decided. 'This time it was a draw.'

Toothless huffed. 'Fine. Now that that's settled, I have something I've been waiting to bring up now that we're officially family.'

"Seriously bud? What's so important that you waited a week?"

'I like your name, don't get me wrong, but its too long,' Toothless stated bluntly.

"Too long." Svarturflugmaður looked around, noting the amused faces of Cloey and Svarturskuggi. "That's your complaint?"

'Yup.' Toothless snorted, clearly serious. 'You need a short one too, and now that Svarturvon has officially accepted you, we can all decide on one.'

"Okay, what do you have in mind?" Svarturflugmaður asked sarcastically. "If it's Hiccup, I'm throwing an eel at you."

'No need for threats, brother,' Toothless hastily replied, edging away from Svarturflugmaður. 'I really don't know. Anyone got any ideas?'

Cloey piped up from a ledge in the corner. 'How about just Flugmaður?'

'Still a bit long,' Toothless mused.

"Do I get a say in this?" Svarturflugmaður asked, amused.

'Sure, but we need ideas first.' Toothless turned to Svarturvon. 'How about you?'

'Maybe something similar to Flugmaður, but not quite the same?' Svarturvon closed her eyes for a moment. 'Something with the same general sound, so it's not confusing.'

'Flugmaður,' Toothless said slowly, before repeating it even slower. 'Flugmathur…'

'Possibly without the first part?' Svarturskuggi added.

'Mathur, math-ur,' Toothless continued, drawing out and changing the pronunciation of sounds at random. It sounded like gibberish, but he was clearly hoping for something to pop out at him.

'Mat, no, too short and boring, Math just feels wrong, Maour doesn't mean anything,' Toothless sighed. 'I can't-'

Svarturflugmaður blinked. "You know, I like that last one. Maour?"

'Why?' Svarturvon seemed confused, her tail waving erratically. 'It doesn't mean anything.'

"Trust me, after having a name that means an annoying breathing issue, that doesn't bother me." Svarturflugmaður tried to put into words why he liked it. "It sounds good, it fits my full name, and it could pass for fairly normal with Vikings."

'It does sound good,' Svarturskuggi agreed. 'All in favor?'

'I like it,' Svarturvon proclaimed, before appearing to realize that seemed a bit contradictory. 'Now that I know why you like it,' she added quickly.

'If Svarturflugmaður likes it, I don't see why not.' Cloey voiced her opinion.

'A name that only means you,' Svarturskuggi mused. 'An interesting choice, and a good one, I think.'

'Maour it is, brother.' Toothless ambushed the yet-again-renamed Maour with a lick across the face. 'And this is the last time we rename you.'

"I'm good with that," Maour agreed, wiping his face off.

He decided that thinking of himself as Maour would be easier than Svarturflugmaður too, though he loved his new name. He was getting used to having several different names. Also, he noticed now that none of the Furies referred to each other with their full names anymore. In fact, his name for Svarturkló, Cloey, had caught on with Toothless and Svarturvon. Cloey didn't mind. Maour understood now why Toothless had been so casual about adding 'Toothless' to his list of monikers. For a dragon, it didn't really matter what you were called by family. It wasn't like any one name was most important, they all mattered.

Svarturvon joined the conversation. 'While we are on the subject of names, what do you two want to call me?' She seemed a bit insecure about it, and Maour and Toothless both picked up on that.

"Nothing silly, like Toothless. That wouldn't work. What do you think, Toothless?" Maour was joking around, but not really. Svarturvon probably wouldn't appreciate a crazy nickname.

'Hey, my name isn't silly. But seriously, I think Von works. Nice and precise. No need to shorten or mangle that to get a good name.' Toothless seemed totally serious.

"Good point. I think Von works well. Wait, what does that mean?" Maour had never been told what any name but his own meant. "For that matter, what do kappi and kló and skuggi mean? I feel like I should know."

Svarturskuggi answered that. 'For starters, Von means hope.' Von squirmed in embarrassment.

Maour felt that that was a good name for the shy but optimistic Fury. "Cool, that fits perfectly." He said that entirely sincerely, and Von purred in thanks. "What about the others?"

'Kappi means warrior. Skuggi means shadow. And kló means claw.' Svarturskuggi gestured to Toothless, himself, and Cloey in turn. Maour had an idea what to call Svarturskuggi.

"Svarturskuggi, do you mind if I call you Shadow?" He felt that was the name he would most associate with the ever-present older Fury. Shadow was always around, in a way that didn't feel overbearing so much as comforting.

'Not at all.' Shadow seemed pleased by this. 'My brother used to call me that. It is nice to hear that name again. It has been a long time.' He was purring softly now.

Maour felt he had to sum things up. "So we've got Toothless, Von, Cloey, and Shadow, along with me, Maour."

Toothless finished the statement. "The Svartur family." He had said it not at all ironically, and they all really felt a little more like a family than before.

Author's Note: Why Maour? Literally the reasons he lists in-story. It doesn't mean anything, it isn't Hiccup, it relates at least somewhat to his original name, though that's a stretch, and it's way better than my first decision, made when I first wrote this story. My beta quite rightfully made the point that if I was going to rename Hiccup it probably shouldn't be to something as generic as 'Mat.' Yes, that was actually what I was working with. Not entirely sure why I settled on that back in July of 2018, but I guess I never got a better option that checked all of the boxes I had for the name. Even 'Maour' was suggested by Fizzlemcschnizzle, and I think that was just because the 'ð' looked like an 'o'. (I may be totally wrong, but given 'Maour' isn't actually a word, and happens to be Maður when the o is replaced, it feels likely.) Fun fact, Maour is actually the name of a river in Cameroon.

Also, on a totally unrelated note, a reader once told me this story had an Eragon vibe in regards to the dynamic between Hiccup and Toothless. I'd never read Eragon, so I picked it up… and that's another story, and another rant I'd rather not put here. The point being, it got me thinking, what stories have that certain dynamic? I just hit upon two by chance.

Gregor The Overlander, specifically the later books, has that dynamic to a degree between several pairs of characters, and is an interestingly dark story given the targeted age group, and the age of the main character. Not many eleven-year-olds thrown into bloody wars in children's fiction, at least not many who by the end are hardened killers. Also, by the end of the story, Gregor and his friend would bear a really eerie resemblance to HTTYD3 Hiccup and Toothless.

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman has it, between the two main characters (a boy and a dog here, who can talk telepathically as one facet of the main plot point, which is very likely not what anyone who looks into it from this post is expecting. I'm not spoiling that.)

On that note, Brian Jacques, the author of the latter suggestion, might be the king of violence in children's stories, specifically his Redwall universe. Not to knock the stories, quite good (and honestly, I probably consider the violence a plus given how it was done), but I do recall the main character in one of them being expected to skin someone else alive, given a knife and everything. Another book's villain had his back broken by the protagonist, and was left by a supposed ally to float out to sea like that, and stuff like death in battle, occasional torture, and random death by accident wasn't rare. (Now I need to go back and reread some of them, because I'm remembering just how good they were, though I'm really not giving them a ringing endorsement here). To contrast that, he also liked to describe food (to the point where his works spawned an original cookbook), which is a bit of a weird counterpoint to the dark and realistic violence. I really don't think I'll ever start doing that, though I'm getting gradually better with writing violence, which is going to show in this series sooner or later as we move forward to more recent writing (though this chapter is less than a week old). He was great at worldbuilding too, with over twenty books in the same universe, covering like six or seven consecutive generations of characters and conflicts. Also the creator of some of the weirdest warcries I've ever seen.