Author's Note: Winter break is almost upon us, and so I must ensure that my posting schedule is not hindered. It seems that Saturdays will be a good fallback day, so while I plan to hold to the Thursday updates over the rest of December, if a story does not appear to have updated on a given Thursday, expect it the following Saturday at the latest. This is just a precaution, but better safe than unpredictably late due to unreliable wifi!

On a more positive note, as of a day after the last chapter, this story broke twenty thousand views. (Actually, it was already past twenty-one thousand when I put this up). That's amazing, and we still aren't done. (Getting closer though, this surprisingly large expansion notwithstanding.) Enjoy another longer-than-average chapter!

Hiccup, now Maour, hadn't seen a Fury with grey eyes since the first night on the island. He'd almost forgotten about their presence save for a few reminders, such as Toothless telling him about Nóttleiðtogi's encounter with Shadow in the caves. Therefore, when he decided to go wander the island alone on a whim, it didn't occur to him that he might need protection. Toothless had been off somewhere with Von, and Maour didn't want to inconvenience his brother, so he figured it would be fine.

He spent the day circling the mountain, looking at and sketching it from different angles. That odd top was something he and Toothless were going to have to explore soon.

A crackle of foliage behind him announced the presence of a dragon, followed by a soft snort. He pretended not to hear, guessing that the dragon thought itself undetected, having not announced itself.

Ambient heat gently wafted from behind, almost as if someone was looking over his shoulder. Turning his head, green eyes met grey.

"Hi," Maour said quietly, taking in the small head, barely half the size of a full-grown Fury. This was the youngest Fury he'd ever seen, no longer from nose to tail than Maour was tall.

'You're small.' The Fury asserted, nudging Maour's shoulder with its nose, inhaling deeply. 'What are you?'

"Good question," Maour smirked, slightly uncomfortable. "What do you think I am?" He wasn't sure if he wanted this little dragon to associate him with Vikings. It would be like telling a little kid that he was a monster, of sorts. But that depended on what it, she by the tone of her voice, had been told.

'Father says you're an experiment.' She asserted confidently, though the lilt in her voice indicated that she didn't know what that meant.

Maour laughed. "Kind of, but that's not what I am." Now he knew she was a Nótt, if the eye color hadn't been enough indication.

'He also says to run from you if I see you.' She confided quietly. 'Mother agrees, but she doesn't look like she wants to.'

That hurt more than Maour had been expecting. ""What could I do, bite your head off with my blunt, little teeth?"

'I don't think so…' The little dragon eyed him nervously. 'You don't look that scary.'

"Not that I disagree, but how would you know what scary looks like?" Maour asked lightly.

That seemed to stump her. After a moment, she sneezed, a small glob of mucus hitting the ground between them. 'I don't,' she admitted.

Maour smirked, inwardly glad that the mucus had hit the ground and not him. "I guess living here means you wouldn't have much chance to learn. Lucky."

'Yeah.' She agreed, her voice soft. 'Sire says the same thing.'

That gave Maour something to think about. "What's your name?"

'Nótthljóður.' She chirped happily.

"Nice to meet you, Nótthljóður. I'm Svarturflugmaður." He enjoyed introducing himself with a name that wasn't an embarrassment.

Nótthljóður groaned dramatically, pawing at her head. 'Your name is too long.'

Maour snorted. "So's yours. Believe me, I know that feeling." It had taken him many reminders to sort out the myriad of complex names of just the few Furies he interacted with often. It was nice to know someone else had the same problem. He could, he knew, let her use his short name, but he still wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, so for the moment he held off on that.

'I like you.' Nótthljóður said eagerly. 'Come follow me?'

Maour stood. "Sure." He realized belatedly what she had meant when she began to flap her wings wildly, making it off the ground somewhat slower than a fully-grown dragon could. He ran along below her, shouting up, "Uh, I can't fly."

Nótthljóður dropped to the ground as if she had forgotten how flight worked, hitting the dirt with a thud that made Maour wince. 'Why?.' She eyed him. 'Use your wings.'

Maour held out his arms. "I don't have any."

'Maybe they'll grow in soon.' She trotted off into the forest on foot without another word, leaving Maour slightly bemused..

Maour followed behind the little dragon as she made her way through the forest, moving towards a side of the mountain he hadn't yet explored. The forest wasn't quite as dense here. It also wasn't as chaotic as Berk had tended to be, with less massive boulders randomly deposited around the mountain. He wasn't entirely sure why that was. The trees swayed lightly in the wind around them as they walked.

In his study of the surrounding environment, Maour didn't realize where they were going until the cave was in sight.

He'd never been stupid enough to look for the Nótt section of the caverns. But apparently, he was stupid enough to follow an innocent little dragon whose family wanted him dead… without asking where she was taking him.

Luckily, there didn't seem to be anyone around. He stopped, entirely unwilling to go any closer.

Nótthljóður turned, staring at him in confusion. 'We're almost there, why are you stopping?'

How to explain this? "I shouldn't go in there."

'Why?' Nótthljóður tilted her head.

"Your family doesn't like me." He could say that much.

'Why?' She repeated.

"Well…" Why, indeed. "It's not really me, I haven't done anything. They just don't like humans, which is fair, although your family seems to really hate them."

'Why?'

"Honestly, I don't know," Maour admitted. "I'm surprised you don't know."

'It is not a story for fledglings.' A deep voice rumbled.

Maour spun, almost knocking his head on Nóttleiðtogi's chest. Nóttleiðtogi was much sneakier than his youngest daughter. "I'll be going now…" Maour tried weakly.

'No.' Nóttleiðtogi said quietly, a deep tension underlying his words. 'You will explain what you are doing with my daughter, and what you are doing here. Now.'

Maour raised his hands instinctively, trying to show that he wasn't dangerous. Strangely, Nóttleiðtogi flinched before seeming to recognize the gesture.

"I was just following…" That was not the best way to put it, judging by Nóttleiðtogi's snarl.

'I asked him to follow me.' Nótthljóður interjected, apparently picking up on the tension in the air. 'I like him.'

'Joy,' Nóttleiðtogi hissed as he turned to his daughter, 'you can go find Einfari. And we will talk later about this.' He snorted as Nótthljóður quickly ran off, casting an apologetic glance at Maour as she went.

So much for the only witness. Wait…

Maour felt like slapping himself. He quickly accessed Toothless's hearing, knowing that his brother would feel it, check in on him, and see the predicament he was in. Hopefully, Toothless would get there fast enough.

Nóttleiðtogi, oblivious to this act of desperation, eyed Maour warily. 'You are not to be around my daughter.' He snarled angrily. 'Around my family. Ever.'

"I didn't try to be!" Maour objected. "She found me in the middle of the woods! What was I supposed to do, scare her off? Run away?" Probably not the safest way to respond, but he just needed to stall until Toothless could get to them. Running through the woods, it would be a few minutes. The more time he could spend being threatened by Nóttleiðtogi, as opposed to being attacked by him, the better.

Nóttleiðtogi blinked, before responding angrily. 'You should have scared her off if you are as truly different as you claim.' There was sarcasm in that last bit.

"What?" Maour had no idea what that meant. "Why? Also, how do you think I would do that anyway?" He very deliberately gestured to himself.

'She is a dragon.' Nóttleiðtogi answered, pacing angrily. 'If she likes you, she will not fear you. She must fear you, fear your kind.' He snarled. 'The sight of something walking on two legs with no wings should be enough to scare her, no matter how scrawny. She has heard enough stories.'

"Fear is too much," Maour argued back. "Wary of humans in general, that's a good idea. A great idea. But if she fears me, that doesn't help anyone. It just makes her life harder, because contrary to what you think, I am not a threat in any way, and as such will be here for the foreseeable future."

At that moment, Toothless interjected in Maour's mind. 'Hold on, Von's coming as fast as she can! I'm following on foot!'

Maour spared a moment to be thankful he had already gained at least some trust with the dragon who was technically his sister. More than he thought if the shy Fury was coming to his aid. Then again, he'd yet to meet a dragon without protective instincts.

Nóttleiðtogi shook his head. 'Fear is better. We were wary…' He seemed to realize who he was arguing with. 'Not that you'd understand anything.'

"Try me." Maour challenged, crossing his arms.

'Fine.' Nóttleiðtogi snarled. 'My brother died because he was not afraid. My mother died because we were not afraid. My father died because none of us truly knew just how dangerous your kind is. Because we were wary, but not afraid,' he almost screamed. 'Fear would have kept us safe! Would have gotten us to leave the moment we saw them coming!' Eyes sharp slits, claws extended fully, Nóttleiðtogi seemed to be seeing something that wasn't there, and he clearly wasn't liking whatever it was.

Every nerve in Maour's legs cried out for action. He could sense this dragon was close to attacking out of grief and anger. Yet, unbidden, a thought came to mind. He always ran. He ran from Snotlout. He ran from Astrid. He ran from his father and from his tribe and his home.

So, to the abject horror Toothless voiced in his head, Maour refused to run. Instead, he sat, turning his side to the dragon that wanted to tear him limb from limb, thus removing any chance of surviving an attack.

"I'm sorry." It was simple, and the truth, in a way.

Nóttleiðtogi froze. He stared at Maour as if he wasn't quite sure what he was seeing was real. The only part of him that betrayed the rage still flowing beneath the surface was his eyes, which were still slitted black pupils cutting cloudy grey eyes.

"I don't want to make this hard," Maour continued, "but I really can't help what species I am."

'That is as good as an admission that you mean me and my family harm!' Nóttleiðtogi snarled. 'Your entire species does!'

"No," Maour frantically backtracked, "it's just me saying that no matter how much I try, I'll always be a human in body. Not in action." Though really, as he was human, anything he did was by definition human in action. It was a somewhat pointless argument, but hopefully, one that would get Nóttleiðtogt to think.

Nóttleiðtogi did not seem at all appeased. 'I will not allow you to hurt my people.'

Maybe a different tactic would work. "And I won't let you hurt mine." Maour continued before Nóttleiðtogi could take that the wrong way. "Getting rid of me will hurt Toothless, Cloey, and the rest of the Svarturs. Especially given there's no point!"

'No point.' Nóttleiðtogi froze. 'Killing a human on an island that no human should ever know about would have no point?' His voice was calm, dark. This scared Maour far more than the earlier rage had. 'Unless you've already betrayed us…' That was way worse.

Maour was almost out of ideas, and what he had left wasn't much help. Nóttleiðtogi knew the basics of Maour's past, that was no help, and wasn't hearing anything except what already fit his assumptions… the only ways Maour could think of to get through to Nóttleiðtogi were stupid and desperate, unlikely to work.

Maour was saved from making a decision between bad options by a shriek from above.

Von plummeted out of the sky, landing heavily between Maour and Nóttleiðtogi. She looked as terrified as Maour should should have been feeling by all rights. 'Get on!'

Nóttleiðtogi flinched, again looking as if he'd been struck. 'No,' he managed, speaking to Von. 'You're letting it on your back!'

Von glanced at Nóttleiðtogi. 'Yeah, so?' Her voice was cold. 'You're dangerous, and that's the fastest way to get him out of here before your family tries to break the agreement... again.'

'You trust him-'

'Enough.' Von interrupted. 'Not totally, not yet, but that's my own issue, not because he's untrustworthy.'

Maour was slightly stunned. Where was the purported shyness Von wore like a cloak around others? He'd heard of it, but never actually seen it after the first few days, which Von had told him was because he was family. That might actually be why Nóttleiðtogi looked so stunned. Apparently, Von was the last dragon expected to warm up to anyone.

Looking at Nóttleiðtogi… Von's words had done more to disarm and surprise him than anything Maour had said. The grey-eyed dragon was no longer appeared to be on the brink of violence, though he was still clearly not far from it.

Nóttleiðtogi drooped almost imperceptibly as Von shifted, moving away from him and towards Maour, who hadn't yet gotten on.

'If even you trust…' Nóttleiðtogi said quietly. 'The Myrkurs were first…'

Through no action on Maour's part. They had accepted him pretty much immediately, for some reason, though Maour only knew this from Cloey telling him, as he hadn't really interacted with the other dragon families much yet.

'...Skuggi and you seem to like him too. Now he comes to my family, and has already gained my youngest daughter's interest. Isn't it obvious?'

Maour finally spoke. "Yeah, I'm trying to get my new neighbors to not hate me, although I'd like to point out that your daughter found me, not the other way around. That's wrong because..?"

'Because you are trying.' Nóttleiðtogi replied directly. 'I can see no real motive for your apparent need to be liked, aside from plotting.'

"Let's get something straight," Maour said angrily. "I don't need you to like me. I want to at least be trusted a little, to not be in danger, but even that's optional. Here, I have at least four people who actually like me for who I am and want me around. That's more than anywhere else I've lived. If you think I'd sell out or betray that-" His voice faltered, and after a moment he continued. "Sorry, you're not the only one who has suffered loss." With that, he climbed onto Von's back.

'I know your claims,' was Nóttleiðtogi's response. 'Svarturvon. Please don't leave yet.'

Von stayed, though it was clear she was ready to take off in an instant. Toothless finally arrived on the scene, and from the way he stopped and made ready to intervene but did not immediately act, he too was waiting to see what Nóttleiðtogi wanted. He probably would have been happier with Maour on his back, but it wasn't like Maour was unprotected now, even if not by Toothless personally.

Nóttleiðtogi's demeanor had changed by now and had calmed down a bit. From what Maour had seen, he doubted that was anything but a facade.

'I did know that.' Nóttleiðtogi admitted again. 'You told us all the barest of details. It has not… convinced me, I suppose.'

Maour snorted. "You say that as if you'd believe it anyway."

'I gave you a chance.' Nóttleiðtogi replied. 'When my mate suggested we let you stay, I did not reject it out of hand, no matter how much I wanted to.' It sounded like an excuse.

"And the part that lets me bring in more people if you guys like them?" Maour inquired. Now was as good a time as he was going to get to find out why they had done that. Nóttleiðtogi did not have any obvious reason for that seemingly contradictory decision.

'At the time it was intended as simply an empty promise.' Nóttleiðtogi answered, his tone unreadably neutral. 'I was sure you'd betray us within days, and we needed something to make the more sympathetic families believe it was a fair trade.'

"And now?"

'Now…' Nóttleiðtogi paused, seeming to truly consider it. 'I see two paths of possible truth. In one, the far more likely, you are a manipulator and a killer biding his time, a poison lurking among us.'

"Nope." Maour shrugged. "Really not true at all."

'And so you would like me to believe the other path, that you are truly an aberration, a positive one.' Nóttleiðtogi growled. 'There is no way for you to prove yourself outright, none that I could believe. A cunning planner would easily take any chance to prove himself innocent.'

"So basically," Maour said with a sigh, "nothing I say or do will ever prove my good intentions, because you will see everything as further manipulation."

'Exactly.' Nóttleiðtogi nodded. 'But I can catch you out. One lie, one mistake, is all I need. Avoid me and leave this island if you want to live. I will catch you out.'

That made Maour mad, and he knew Toothless felt the same, judging by the way his brother was growling loudly. A crazy idea struck Maour.

"You know what, no." Maour smiled. "You think you will catch me in a lie or discover my,' and here he put as much sarcasm as he could muster into his voice, "true intentions? You're the best dragon for the job?"

'Yes.' Nóttleiðtogi glared at Maour. 'It is only a matter of time.'

"Well then," Maour said slowly, "how can I help you?"

There was silence for a moment.

'What are you saying?' Toothless asked, sounding slightly shocked, while eyeing Nóttleiðtogi warily.

"Nóttleiðtogi, you say I should avoid you if I want to stay because I cannot possibly conceal my true nature from you." Maour knew this was a risk. "Let's meet up then, as often as you like. That should speed the process up, shouldn't it?" Yes, he knew it was really stupid to be volunteering to spend time around a dragon who wanted him dead, but it was clear he needed to defuse Nóttleiðtogi's hatred before it got him killed simply because Nóttleiðtogi seized upon some insignificant detail as an excuse to attack. At least this way, Maour could be somewhat in control of the situation… and have Toothless with him, because there was no way he was doing this without backup in the future.

Nóttleiðtogi blinked. 'This is nothing more than another ploy.'

"I'm really not the plotting type, not at that level." Maour might, in other circumstances, have been amused by how highly Nóttleiðtogi thought of his intellect, in a twisted way. "The way I see it, even if this was a plot, it is one that does not benefit me at all."

'No,' Nóttleiðtogi admitted slowly, 'there is no possible reason for you to offer this, save as a last-ditch attempt to convince me, which has failed.'

'Good, so you don't-' Toothless began, but Nóttleiðtogi cut him off with a very dark rumble of amusement.

'No, I accept,' Nóttleiðtogi announced. 'This will indeed speed things along. I will ask questions of you, and you will answer.' He met Maour's eyes. 'Lies become harder and harder to maintain under any circumstances, but with a dragon who is exceptionally good at smelling not only the truth, but emotions too?' At that, a vicious look crossed Nóttleiðtogi's face. 'I am very good at that, which you cannot possibly have known. You have maneuvered yourself into a corner.'

Maour kept his face blank. That was an unexpected development, if not a totally impossible one. He had never thought much about what he had assumed was just something dragons could do sometimes, smelling the truth, or lack thereof, on a person. It made sense that there might be more if one developed the skill, though there had to be some limitation, or Nóttleiðtogi would be using it right now. If Nóttleiðtogi spoke the truth, and Maour really had been what the dragon suspected, it would have been game over.

As things were, Maour really didn't mind. It might even make things easier. "Cool. So, when and where?"

Nóttleiðtogi froze, the sly expression slipping off of his face. His tail, which had been waving angrily, hit the ground, in what Maour thought might be the Fury equivalent of jaw-dropping. At length, he recovered, and managed a neutral tone. 'The top of the mountain. Let us say three nights from now.'

'Why so long?' Toothless growled, glaring at Nóttleiðtogi. 'Why not tomorrow night? Why not now?'

'I have my reasons,' Nóttleiðtogi replied, 'and you are not one to question them.'

'You know what I think?' Toothless had broken his silence and seemed in no mood to back down now that he had. 'I think you can't smell anything like that, and you're just going to claim you do.'

'Do you?' Nóttleiðtogi rumbled in amusement, a threatening sound. 'Ask around. You can even bring someone else to witness the unmasking of your dangerous pet for what it truly is. Bring Skuggi. He knows what I can do, and I would rather like for him to see the truth first hand.' With that, Nóttleiðtogi turned and walked away, into the cave entrance they had been standing by, disappearing around a corner.

'He likes to run away once he's made his point,' Toothless grumbled. 'I don't understand him at all.'

"Agreed." Nóttleiðtogi's actions seemed to either contradict each other… or to work perfectly in accordance to some master plan none of them knew about. Even the dragon's moods and words didn't feel consistent.

'He isn't making any sense to me either if it's any consolation.' Von shivered. 'But I don't know him that well.'

"I think we need to talk to someone who does," Maour decided.

'I do not like that at all.' Shadow, Maour's adoptive father, paced in front of his three children. Cloey was not present at the moment. 'Tell me exactly what he proposed.'

'Maour is supposed to meet him on top of the mountain three nights from now.' Toothless growled. 'Nóttleiðtogi will ask him questions, and Maour is supposed to answer them.'

'Nóttleiðtogi said he'd be able to smell the truth,' Von added worriedly, 'but he doesn't seem…'

'Sane?' Toothless supplied. 'He doesn't smell crazy, but it's hard to tell.'

"That's another thing, can someone explain how that works?" Maour added. "I would assume no one would ever lie if you guys can just smell lies."

'It's complicated,' Shadow answered quietly. 'We can if conditions are just right. If we're downwind, if there aren't any other strong smells, and really if we get lucky. It's not reliable, but if one can get it, it is never wrong.'

'So that's why he wants to meet on top of the mountain.' Toothless elaborated upon seeing the lost look on Maour's face. 'No distracting smells up that high, and it will be easy to stay downwind.'

'You forget to mention that it will give Maour nowhere to run, and basically trap him up there,' Shadow added sadly. 'Togi is thorough. He expects Maour to have Toothless and apparently myself with him, but he does not see that as an avenue of escape.'

"Because if I needed to escape, you both wouldn't want to help me." Maour understood that much.

'Yes,' Shadow sighed wearily. 'This was going to happen eventually. One cannot live on an island without encountering a fourth of its inhabitants.'

"I still wish I hadn't run into Joy-"

Shadow flinched and cut Maour off. 'No! You are not in their favor to begin with, you cannot afford to refer to her as such if she has not told you to. They need one excuse, no matter how flimsy.'

"Is it really that big a deal?!" Maour really hoped he couldn't be attacked for using someone's nickname without permission.

'No, it is not, but they need an excuse, not a good reason.' Shadow shook his head in frustration. 'Apologies can be made for overreactions, but apologies will not bring you back from the dead, and they know that. Any insult could be the only thing they need to act.'

'Then why didn't Nóttleiðtogi kill him tonight before we got there?' Toothless didn't seem to like the question he had asked. 'Surely that was an excuse.'

'It was, but Togi is not evil, just… misguided. He truly believes Maour is a threat, and to his mind, it is better to get us all to agree, to prevent future mistakes of this kind.' Shadow spoke sadly. 'He always looks at things long-term, planning three steps ahead if at all possible. It is a way of coping, for him.'

"So what was he doing with letting me stay here at all?" Maour still didn't get that.

'Very likely he intended to let you doom yourself by staying here. Again, he wants all of us to see the folly in this entire scenario. By that same strategy, he has made it all the more clear that we have two options. Keep all humans out, or let more in. That was the point in his amendment to the conditions of your stay.'

"To make sure this all ends, one way or the other." Maour felt somewhat ill. "To make sure that however he got rid of me, it would be permanent, and an acknowledged mistake that would never be repeated." That made much more sense. "But he's still acting weird."

'My fault, I'm afraid. I told him to be prepared for all scenarios, including that in which you were exactly as you claimed. He might be trying to remain neutral, but it isn't working.' Shadow glanced down at the cavern floor. 'I don't know if that will help your case, but he wants me there as a witness for that reason. To prove that he was right, even while remaining neutral, which probably only means not killing you immediately.'

"So now what?" Maour asked nervously.

'Assuming you have nothing to hide,' and Shadow cut off Toothless's protest before it could begin with a sharp glance, 'which I believe is the truth, you are not in a large amount of danger. Togi is good with twisting words, but he will have nothing to twist, and if he gets any information from your scent, it might even convince him. That is unlikely, but possible.'

Maour sighed in relief.

'In the meantime, I suggest a few things.' Shadow laughed before elaborating. 'Spend time with the other families besides his. Go visit the Eldurs. They might storm our section of the caves if you don't do that soon anyway, knowing their thirst for knowledge.'

"That doesn't sound too bad…" Maour mused.

Von groaned. 'You don't know the Eldurs. Good luck with that.'

'Also,' Shadow continued, 'join some of the games of the younger Furies if you can do so without running into any of the Nótts. That will make it clear, hopefully, that you are not averse to making friends. Togi might take the fact that you've mostly stayed around our family as suspicious.'

"Okay…" Maour hesitated, unsure if what he wanted to ask would be uncalled for. "I don't want to be rude, but… why are you friends with Nóttleiðtogi?"

Shadow hesitated, seeming to be taking a moment to form a coherent reply. 'We are friends for many reasons. This is a less than ideal outgrowth of how Togi's past has affected him and is not normal. It hurts to see him so outraged and afraid like this, because I know it is not how he wants to be.' After a moment's pause, Shadow continued. 'He is normally much less aggressive, and we share much in common. I see my own reaction in him if Nóttskarpur had taken my mate's place in this entire thing. You,' he looked at Maour, 'are quite good at proving your good intentions if you are given a chance, but your mother made me give you that chance. Togi has not had such a push, because while Nóttskarpur is not against you by default, she is not so sure of you as to push Togi.'

That made some sense, though Maour really hadn't seen much that Togi held in common with Shadow so far. "So he's not a bad person, just…" From the way everyone who knew spoke of him, and what Nóttleiðtogi had said earlier, it almost seemed like he was… "traumatized?"

Shadow nodded. 'Exactly.'

"What happened?" Besides losing his mother, father, and brother to humans. Maybe that was it.

'That is not my story to tell.' Shadow warbled apologetically. 'He only told me when I swore I would not share it without permission. The adults of this pack all know because we all approached him and asked, but none of us will spread the tale. That was his request.'

'Great, so Maour might say something that seems innocent but actually sets Nóttleiðtogi off.' Toothless did not sound happy.

'It is a possibility,' Shadow conceded. 'That is another reason you and I will both be there.'

"Well, we have a few nights before that happens." Maour wanted to think about something else. He didn't feel like worrying over the inevitable. "So, Toothless, want to go meet the Eldurs? It's not like there's any reason to wait." Maybe doing something would help take his mind off of it.

'Sure, let's go.' Toothless glanced over at Von. 'Were you serious about not coming?'

'Yes.' Von shivered. 'I can remember literally falling asleep, Eldurfjall talked so long. You have fun with that.'

The trip to the Eldur section of the caverns was short, as it was just a few minutes of travel through the cavern system. Maour and Toothless were ambushed the moment they stepped foot inside.

It was not an ambush of violence and danger, more one of pure surprise. Maour and Toothless found themselves surrounded by red-eyed Furies, all of whom were watching intently. There were four, at the moment.

"Hey, we came to introduce ourselves," Maour began, very unnerved by how quickly they had been intercepted, and by the fact that none of the Furies spoke.

'Yeah, and can you back off a little?' Toothless added with an uncomfortable flick of his tail. 'Plenty of room in the cave.'

'Eldurhjarta, Eldurberg?' One of the Furies said suddenly. 'Report.'

'I hear and understand the human,' a male Fury said.

'As do I,' a female added.

'Good, good.' The one who had asked the question poked at Maour with a claw. 'And we have ruled out a dragon in disguise, a small one hidden on him that speaks for him?'

Maour's jaw dropped even as he dodged the harmless poke. That was a theory he never would have come up with.

'Yes, his mouth moves in time with his words, in the way you said humans speak.' The female asserted. 'Too perfect to be fake.'

'So I can see.' The male snorted. 'Next, we need to-'

'Fjall!' A new voice called out, making all four of the Furies around Maour and Toothless flinch. The voice was female, and she sounded angry. 'What are you doing?!'

The male visibly wilted, his ears drooping. 'We were just-'

'I know what you were doing, it was a rhetorical question.' A fifth red-eyed Fury came into view, emerging from a side-cavern. 'But you know the rules. No experimenting on others without their permission.'

'We needed to be sure what it says really comes from the mind of a human,' the dragon Maour assumed was Eldurfjall whined.

"Totally human," Maour supplied helpfully.

'I know that, dear.' The female snapped at the other dragons. 'Show some respect! Stop crowding them!'

With that, three of the four Furies slunk away, retreating to the edges of the cavern. The female growled quietly at them as they did. 'Eldurberg, Eldurvatn, Eldurhjarta. You all know that your father goes… overboard. Why do you not stop him?'

'Well, he had a point this time,' one complained. 'We needed to know.'

'And you did not think to ask the human politely first, Eldurvatn? That is no excuse.' The female who Maour assumed was the mother of the family seemed quite frustrated. 'You all know we treat others with respect.'

There was no response to that, all four Furies looking quite embarrassed. Toothless shuffled uncertainly, clearly not sure what to do or say. Maour wracked his brain for the name of the Eldur Matriarch. Cloey had told him, hadn't she, that first night..?

'Are you Eldurský?' Toothless asked respectfully.

'Well he certainly isn't,' Eldurský snorted, casting a glance at her mate, who looked no less chastened than the others. 'They mean well, but sometimes they get… overenthusiastic.'

"I know the type," Maour responded, thinking of Fishlegs. "We came to-"

'To sate my family's curiosity before they took matters into their own paws?' Eldurský purred at them both. 'A smart move. It was a struggle to convince them to wait until you two came to us.'

'Both of us?' Toothless seemed surprised. 'Why me?'

'Your story was good, as an introduction,' the female Fury who had yet to be introduced said, 'but there's so much more!'

'What was that volcanic nest like?'

'The Queen, I want to know all about her!'

'Don't forget the-'

'Quiet!' Eldurský roared, the sound echoing throughout the caves. 'As you can see,' she cast a heavy stare at each of her children in turn, 'we have questions.'

Maour was beginning to understand why Von hadn't come along. "We'll try to answer as many as we can. But we do kind of want to go home by dawn." It wasn't even midnight yet, but the way things were looking, that might be a time limit for the Eldurs.

'Then we'll be quick,' Eldurský declared. 'You two might wish to make yourselves comfortable.'

'Von?' Cloey wandered into the cave, wondering where her children had ended up on this particular night. Even though they had been avoiding the other Furies, the three managed to roam quite a large portion of the island. The family section of the caves was just the best place to start looking. She wanted to talk to Von, to catch up at least a little with her daughter. They had spoken before, of course, but over a decade in missed time could not be recovered in a week.

Odd, no one was there. Usually Skuggi was around. Maybe Von was at her pond. Judging by the scent trail leading from the cave, that was likely. Cloey was glad her daughter had a place of calm away from the caves. That was good for anyone, to have a place they could go when they needed solitude. For Von though, it seemed solitude had been in abundance. Still, maybe they would all be there.

She left the caves, and in a moment of spontaneity decided to run there, instead of flying. It would be fun. Fun was important, after years of miserable enslavement. Now that she could, she rarely missed a chance to enjoy herself, when there was no reason not to.

Because of this, Cloey happened to approach the pond from an angle that could not be seen, hidden by the trees. When she heard more than one dragon's voice, both female, she slowed to a stop.

Von had said she had friends, but Cloey didn't really know them. This was a good chance to see her daughter in her normal life, without the awkwardness Cloey's presence would cause. Maybe it was spying, but it was a harmless endeavor brought on by curiosity. Cloey crept to a place where she could listen and observe.

Von was lounging by the pond, looking almost half-asleep, though there was a sharpness to her eyes that dispelled that particular illusion if one looked.

Another Fury, one with grey eyes, stood across from her, talking. Her tail swayed slowly, a subtle motion that never stopped.

Who was this? Cloey vaguely remembered word of a female hatchling in the days before her fateful disappearance. Because of the insular nature of raising a hatchling, she had never gotten to see the newest pack member. What had Skarpur called her?

'Einfari, how are things?' Von sounded casual. It appeared Einfari must have just arrived.

'Crazy, really.' Einfari sounded tense. 'My brother is in a towering rage half the time, and who knows where the rest of the night.' She sat on her hind legs, evidently relaxed. 'Mom is refusing to agree with anything dad says we should do, and dad looks like he's going to fall over and sleep for five nights straight, he's so tired and stressed.'

'What about your sister?' Von flicked her ears. 'Don't tell me she's finally picked up on the family subtlety and is hiding her opinions.'

'Never that,' Einfari laughed. 'She's the reason Nóttreiði is away half the nights… although something is different today. Dad took her aside to talk to her, for no reason I could see.'

'I might know. You'll hear about it soon enough,' Von admitted quickly. 'But how are you? I haven't seen you since…'

'Since that pest moved into your caves.' Einfari growled. 'Dad's doing. We're not allowed anywhere near the Svartur caves, and I've only barely gotten permission to come here. He doesn't seem to remember that you like this place.'

'Well, it has been a while…' Von said slowly.

'But enough about my family's overdramatic implosion,' Einfari said, her tone serious. 'Are you safe?'

'Entirely,' Von responded lightly.

'Von, I'm serious.' Einfari seemed troubled, judging by the way her tail was thrashing, sweeping a section of the ground by the pond clear of twigs and leaves. 'It doesn't know where you sleep, does it?'

'No, he sleeps out in the main cave with Toothless.'

Cloey had to hold in a chuckle at that funny name for Kappi. It had caught on with Von, which was not something she had ever seen coming. Cloey and Skuggi were the only ones who called him Kappi, and even Skuggi had taken to calling him Toothless on occasion. It seemed that name just stuck with him.

'Don't let it find out.' Einfari began pacing in front of the still apparently half-asleep Von. 'If it asks to see your scale collection, don't let it-'

'Einfari, neither of them even knows I save my shed scales. I don't think even dad remembers.' Von raised her head, giving up the pretense of relaxation. 'I'm fine.'

'If it threatens you, or even looks at you funny,' Einfari continued, seemingly unaware of Von's rising agitation, 'come to us, dad will tear it apart faster than-'

'Stop.' Von rose and snarled at Einfari, who froze, stunned. 'I thought you at least were not blinded by your family's history. Nóttreiði is blind, but you were always better. Why are you following his lead now, of all times?'

'Dad thinks-'

'So? Think for yourself.' Von pawed at the ground. 'I've spent plenty of time with him, and he's nice. He doesn't act like anything we've ever been told, he talks, he likes me-'

'He's tricking you!' Einfari growled. 'Sly words, and a dragon already brainwashed. He's gotten your brother wrapped around his paw, somehow!'

'Einfari,' Von pleaded. 'Stop repeating what your father probably rants all night every night, and listen to someone who actually knows what they're talking about, who's currently sharing close quarters with the human in question.'

That hit Einfari hard. She glared at Von, even as her eyes widened in hurt. 'I-'

'He doesn't care.' Von was the one pacing now. 'He doesn't know where I sleep because he doesn't need to know, and therefore doesn't want to. He gave me every opportunity to just outright reject him, simply because of a mistake mom made. If he is trying to trick me, then he's the most perfect actor I've ever seen, and not even the Myrkurs can hold a flame to him. I don't believe anyone can hold a perfect facade for over a week, spending every waking moment with us.'

'But it clearly is-' Einfari began.

'He. He is not all-powerful, not the perfect manipulator.' Von sighed, the anger leaving her. 'If a random human who is not even an adult can be as dangerous as your father claims this one is, our species would never survive. They're stupid, all the stories agree, and they kill dragons. He is not one, why do you still assume the other applies?'

'I…' Einfari couldn't seem to meet Von's hard gaze. 'I don't know.'

'So please, stop this. It's bad enough we have your father to deal with, I can't take it if you just up and join him, without even trying to think for yourself.' Von warbled quietly. 'Please?'

'I can't go against my father…' Einfari began, 'but I don't have to help him either.' It was said as if that was truly the best Einfari could do, and both seemed to accept that.

'Did he send you here?' Von sighed. 'Perhaps right before taking your sister aside to talk to her?'

'Yes, actually. He wanted me to make sure you were okay…' Einfari stiffened. 'What happened?'

'I kept your father from killing him for doing nothing worse than listening to your sister, who brought him to your caves, without telling him where they were going.'

'What?!' Einfari's eyes grew wide, and Cloey could feel her own doing the same. When had that happened?!

'Before you ask, no, he did not seek out Nótthljóður,' Von said quickly, 'she found him.'

'Von…' Einfari did not seem at all calmed by that. 'We have a problem.'

'Aside from the obvious?' Von asked dryly.

'When Nóttreiði finds out, he'll snap!' Einfari spread her wings, looking panicked. 'He's sworn to kill the human if it even sets eyes on her!'

'Not good,' Von breathed out. 'Maour and Toothless are in the Eldur caves, or leaving them. They'll have been there for a while, and Eldurský won't let her family keep them there all night.' She too rose, and the two Furies sprang into the air with an urgency that fit the situation. Both in the defense of their respective brothers. Maour was in danger, and if Nóttreiði killed him, the rage-filled Fury would be in severe trouble, to the point where Cloey truly wasn't sure what would happen. Breaking a pack decree, especially when doing so involved murder, wasn't something they had any precedent for.

With that, Cloey rose and launched into the air herself, beating a course for the mountain. Maour was in danger, and if she found Nóttreiði had harmed him at all, she might just ensure the Nótt Fury did not end up facing justice… because she would have already dealt it out. With lethal force, if he killed Maour.

That same instinct that ended the Changewing was coming up, and though Nóttreiði didn't know it, he was treading on thin ice.

'So it can only be done by our kind,' Toothless concluded. 'The Queen tried with all of her thralls, and we were the only ones capable of it.'

'That is not entirely certain,' Eldurfjall added. 'It only rules out the species she had on call.'

Maour stifled a yawn. "So pretty much all of the more common species. Quite a few." They had been talking for hours, and while Eldurský had brought order to the chaos, it was still quite an intensive round of questioning, and the Eldur Matriarch had been no less enthusiastic.

'And we know it can be done by an adolescent,' Eldurhjarta added, 'so age is not a factor, apparently.'

'It may still be limited to those past fledgling stage,' Eldurfjall argued.

"How many stages are there?" Maour asked what he had been wondering. If anything, now was a good time to ask the obvious questions, because if there was anything an Eldur seemed to like, it was explaining something. Very much like Fishlegs.

'Four or five,' Eldurberg replied, shifting his wings. 'Hatchling, Fledgling, adolescent, adult, and maybe Titan. We're still not sure about that.'

'Why aren't you sure?' Toothless warbled curiously. 'It seems like the stages of life of our own species would be pretty easy to check.'

'The oldest one in our pack is Myrkureyðileggingu,' Eldurvatn supplied, 'and he's old, but he hasn't passed into any sort of Titan stage that we can see.'

"Then how do you know it exists?" That seemed to be an important question.

Eldurfjall and Eldurský both seemed to retreat for a fraction of a second, their faces displaying a quick flash of some undefinable emotion.

Eldurský responded slowly, 'we've seen it, once. Only once. And none of us ever knew how old she was.' There was a weight of some kind to her words and tone, one that stopped either Toothless or Maour from asking further.

'So…' Eldurberg began, 'four or five. Hatchling lasts for three years, Fledgling until about twelve or so, and adolescent until thirty.'

"Thirty?!" Maour laughed. "That's a really long childhood."

'Humans are different?' Eldurhjarta edged closer.

"Adults by age fifteen or so," Maour replied.

'But are they adults in mind as well as body?' Eldurfjall shrugged. 'We reach physical maturity shortly after age twelve. Mental maturity is what we call adult, and that really doesn't come until much later… or in some cases never.'

"Well…" Maour thought about it. "If you look at it that way… I'm pretty sure thirty is about right for us too." As was the never growing up part.

'Okay, next, what-' Eldurfjall began, before Eldurský lightly tapped him with a wing.

'It's been quite a while dear, I think we've kept them long enough.' She didn't seem entirely happy with that either. 'Though we have many more questions.'

'We can come back another time,' Toothless quickly offered, standing as he did.

'You'll see us around, I'm sure,' Eldurský mused, 'but yes, that would be good.'

"Well then see you all later. It was nice meeting all of you!" Maour called over his shoulder, as Toothless subtly nudged him back towards the main cavern system. "Bud, stop looking so anxious to leave."

'Don't say that when you're just as anxious to get somewhere we can run, or fly, or something!' Toothless hissed.

"Very true," Maour admitted. They were both not at all used to sitting around and talking for the better part of the night. If he had energy to burn, then Toothless definitely did.

The two walked into the main cavern, angled towards the Svartur section of the caves. No one was around at the moment.

'I'm thinking we run from one end of the island to the other… five times,' Toothless decided, 'and then fly until dawn.'

"Or maybe we cross the island once and then think about it again?" Maour offered.

'Well, we could-' Toothless stiffened at the exact moment a subtle scrape on claws was heard.

Time seemed to slow for Maour, who had a sudden sense of intense danger. He did not object when Toothless sheathed his teeth and lunged for him, grabbing him with his mouth.

Maour couldn't make much sense of what he was seeing, being half-dragged by Toothless as he was, but he definitely saw the black blur dropping where he had been standing and tackling Toothless. Maour was dropped and rolled to the side, hitting his head on the ground as he did.

Sounds echoed through the air, snarls and grunts, though far more grunts of pain than snarls. Maour tried to stand, but his vision was only slowly returning to normal and he was too dizzy to really do anything except wait… and hope Toothless could fend off their attacker.

Author's Note: To the guest who asked if I am Finnish…

I really don't know much about my ancestry and haven't felt the need to know. Maybe? It's entirely possible.