Author's Note: So, where were we? Oh, right, Toothless and Nóttreiði in combat, Maour unable to see what's going on, help coming, all of that. Not that bad of a cliffhanger, right? If it's any consolation, I didn't intend to leave it there, but the last chapter would have been more than 10,000 words if I had finished the scene. 8,000 is my limit for this story, maybe 9,000 if necessary.

As for why this is being published three days early? I'm not sure if I could publish it Thursday as planned, and I figured early was better than late. The next chapter will show up as normal though, so there will be a slightly longer gap between this and the next. Oh well.

Maour blinked furiously, ignoring the splitting headache, trying to make the world come into focus and stop spinning. That wasn't an easy task. When Toothless had tossed Maour out of the way, he had hit his head pretty hard. How long Maour had been totally disoriented was anyone's guess, but as he found his way back to the present reality, he heard nothing by silence. What had happened?

'Try.'

That had been Toothless.

'Please, try again.' Toothless still, speaking with more venom than Maour had ever heard. 'We're going to make this very clear.'

What in the world was his brother saying? Maour's vision was clearing, and he could see…

Another thump, a grunt of pain.

'Had enough yet?'

Maour could see Toothless, standing between him and Nóttreiði's prone form. As he watched, Nóttreiði shakily regained his footing, keeping his weight off of one of his front paws, and charged unsteadily.

Toothless almost casually side-stepped and hip-checked the other dragon, slamming him into the base of the pillar. The impact could be heard across the cavern, echoing and preceding another grunt of pain.

That was what the sounds had been. Repeated failures on Nóttreiði's part to even pass Toothless.

'Nóttreiði!' Nótteinfari appeared at the edge of the cavern, coming in from the Nótt section, followed by Von, of all people.

'Stay out of this,' Toothless snarled angrily. 'This is between me and the one who has once again attempted to kill Maour.'

That stopped Nótteinfari from coming any closer, but not from speaking. 'Nóttreiði, stop this!' She must have seen Nóttreiði's latest attempt. It was likely she would have attacked, but it was clear that Toothless was not the aggressor, even now.

Nóttreiði didn't seem to hear her. He rose once more, shaking his head, and spat a plasma blast at Toothless. It was weak but fast, and if Toothless dodged it would hit Maour behind him.

Toothless didn't even flinch, taking the blast to his side, grunting but otherwise appearing unharmed by the weak scorching. Then he fired back a small blast of his own, one that hit Nóttreiði's side, just above the stomach.

Nóttreiði wheezed out, crumpling to the ground, having had the wind knocked out of him.

Toothless quickly walked over and placed a paw on the side of Nóttreiði's neck, pinning him. 'I think I've made my first point,' he growled down at the other dragon.

'Svarturkappi!' Cloey called from another side of the central cavern. 'What-'

'Everyone, stay back,' Toothless repeated angrily. 'You too mom. I haven't said what needs to be said yet, and this is the best chance I'm ever going to get.'

Cloey took a step back. 'Is Maour okay?'

Toothless blinked, looking back at Maour. 'Are you?'

"Dizzy, but yeah." Maour glanced at Nóttreiði, who was glaring at him. "What are you going to do?"

'Watch.' Toothless turned back to meet Nóttreiði's angry eyes.

Maour noticed that Shadow was restraining Nóttleiðtogi in another corner of the cave, and by the looks of it arguing with him. From two other cave entrances, more dragons watched, Eldurs and Myrkurs. Everything said and done here would be seen by all.

'You have attacked Maour… again.' Toothless glared down at Nóttreiði. 'Why?'

'It... ' Nóttreiði faltered, clearly aware of how weak what he was about to admit would sound.

'Because he talked to your little sister?' Toothless asked in a cold voice. 'Let us be clear. Is that why, yes or no?' It made sense, as that was the only thing that had happened that could trigger Nóttreiði's attempt. Toothless pressed down a bit harder on Nóttreiði's neck, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to be less than comfortable.

'Yes,' Nóttreiði rasped.

'So in your eyes,' Toothless continued, 'a sibling of yours encountering one of mine in a completely harmless way is grounds for you to kill the sibling in question?' There was an odd tension in the air, and in the strange way Toothless phrased that. Maour didn't like it at all.

'Yes.' Nóttreiði didn't seem to understand it either.

'That is right in your eyes?' Toothless's voice was freezing now, if it had been cold before. The cavern was totally silent, even Nóttleiðtogi now quiet.

Maour glanced over at Nóttleiðtogi, only to see a look of complete horror on the older dragon's face. What was everyone hearing, that Maour didn't understand?

'Yes.' Nóttreiði spat that defiantly.

'Fool.' Toothless snarled in Nóttreiði's face. 'By your own logic, it is right for me to kill Nótthljóður right now.'

A moment passed in which Nóttreiði quite clearly worked his way through Toothless's logic. The moment Nóttreiði realized Toothless was right was also clearly marked, the moment Nóttreiði started roaring and struggling, where before he had lain defeated and pinned.

Toothless held him down with some effort. 'If I were you, that is what I would now do,' he shouted over Nóttreiði's increasingly panicked screaming.

"Toothless-" Maour began, horrified by the suggestion.

Toothless threw a subtle glance Maour's way, his eyes frustrated but not murderous. He wasn't serious. Maour cut himself off once he realized that.

Maour glanced over at Nóttleiðtogi, to gauge how the dragon was taking Toothless threatening his daughter. Oddly, Nóttleiðtogi was glaring, but nothing more. As if he knew Toothless wasn't going to do that.

Maour knew Toothless couldn't do that, wouldn't do that, but how did Nóttleiðtogi know? Maybe Nóttleiðtogi was just better at understanding Toothless's point to start with, why he had brought that comparison up at all.

'But I am not you,' Toothless whispered to Nóttreiði, only just loud enough for everyone else to hear. Nóttreiði slowed, his clearly futile struggles faltering.

'I am not you,' Toothless repeated. 'And I swear now, I will never lay a claw on Nótthljóður except in self-defense.'

'If you expect me to do the same, forget it.' Nóttreiði sneered at Toothless.

'No, I don't.' Toothless shifted, pinning Nóttreiði more securely. 'I expect you to swear to me that you won't hurt Maour in any way. And you will swear this personally, as you seem to have no problem with defying the decisions of the pack as a whole. That is the price you must now pay.'

'Or?' Nóttreiði snarled.

'Or we will see what attempted murder and breaking a pack decree means.' Toothless looked around the cave. 'Eldurfjall? What does that usually mean?'

Eldurfjall, who had been watching with wide eyes, started at being addressed. 'I don't know, it's never happened before. We sometimes do restitution in kind…'

'One of my family would be allowed to attack Nótthljóður, or more likely you since none of us is sick enough to attack a fledgling because her brother is an enraged idiot.' Toothless supplied for Nóttreiði's benefit.

'...or we might just banish Nóttreiði,' Eldurfjall continued, looking sickened by Toothless's words. 'I don't think we do executions, and we definitely don't do imprisonment, so that would be our only other option.'

'You'll never see her again. Never be able to protect her again.' Toothless said that sadly. 'Is that what you were willing to pay, just to kill Maour?'

Nóttreiði wordlessly flinched, his eyes now wide and panicked.

'I didn't think so. You just didn't think.' Toothless sighed, before stepping back and letting Nóttreiði up. 'So, what will it be?'

Nóttreiði stood shakily, clearly bruised and battered, favoring his front paw. He glared at Toothless, now completely ignoring Maour.

Maour was just trying not to faint with relief, now understanding what pushing Toothless past his breaking point looked like. It was a bit scary, though Maour couldn't fault his brother at all for how he had handled things. He knew he could intervene, could have at any point, but there was no real reason to. Toothless had everything in hand. Well, in paw.

'It will attack me, and you expect me to let it kill me?' Nóttreiði sounded incredulous.

'If that happened, which it won't, I would expect you to run, to get someone else to defend you,' Toothless said with a flat voice. 'In no situation will I tolerate you attacking him, or letting him be injured through inaction.' That was new. It almost sounded like Toothless was saying…

'I have to defend him?!' Nóttreiði yelled incredulously, and angrily. 'Not going to happen!'

'Too bad!' Toothless yelled right back, his tail thrashing the air behind him. 'That's the price you are going to pay, to be allowed to remain here at all!'

'I won't be banished, dad won't let-' Nóttreiði began.

'Do it. I cannot save you now.' Nóttleiðtogi glared at Nóttreiði. 'And this is not my punishment for your stupidity, it is his. Mine we will discuss later.'

Nóttreiði deflated, not looking anyone in the eye. 'Fine. I swear.'

'Tell us all exactly what you are swearing, Nóttreiði.' Toothless waited expectantly.

'I swear to not hurt the human, or let it be hurt when I can prevent it, for as long as you hold me to this.' Nóttreiði whined in defeat, completely humiliated. He was completely aware of how many pairs of eyes were watching, it seemed.

Maour felt a pang of pity for his attacker, as odd as that felt at first. But really, Nóttreiði was an aggressive, dangerous… older brother. It wasn't so much a murderous intent as a misplaced need to protect mixed with powerful hatred that Maour couldn't say was wrong in general, just in this specific case. Yes, Maour admitted to himself, he felt sorry for Nóttreiði. But what could he do to help the dragon who so clearly hated him?

"Nóttreiði," Maour spoke loudly and clearly, from the heart. What could he do to help Nóttreiði, in the future if not now? "For what it's worth, I will also defend Nótthljóður, and everyone else who lives here, with my life. I swear that now, to you." He might not be believed, but it was the truth, and a way to take some of the sting out of Nóttreiði's humiliation, by taking the attention off of him now.

'As if your word was worth anything,' Nóttreiði muttered.

'More than yours.' Toothless growled at Nóttreiði. 'He will hold to his word. Will you?'

'He had better,' Cloey growled from the sidelines. 'Next time, he won't be let off this easily.'

'It's not letting him off, Mom,' Toothless explained, 'it's just not throwing him out of his home because he has poor self-control.'

'He broke a pack decree, who says he won't break this too?' Cloey argued back. 'An oath he doesn't hold to is no punishment whatsoever.'

'He will hold to this.' Nóttleiðtogi asserted in a dark voice. 'I will make sure of it. Nóttreiði, go to the cave and wait for me. Now.'

Maour really didn't like the tone Nóttleiðtogi was using. It reminded him of…

Stoick, almost, when he had screwed up in a particularly damaging way…

"Nóttleiðtogi, please don't hurt him." Maour blurted out without thinking. Stoick had never hit him, but that was not something Maour knew for sure Nóttleiðtogi also held to, and-

Nóttleiðtogi rounded on Maour, visibly stopping himself from doing more than growling. 'I do not lay a claw on my children! How dare you insinuate otherwise!'

'He could not know that, Togi,' Shadow intervened. 'Perhaps think about what he has said, and not what he accidentally implied about you.'

Nóttleiðtogi faltered, clearly doing just that. He left the central cavern without another word, glancing back at Maour as he did, his expression unreadable.

Maour and Toothless stood alone in the center of the cavern, next to the pillar, with dragons from all the other families staring at them.

"Did I hit my head so hard that I'm hallucinating all of this?" Maour asked no one in particular.

'Are you still dizzy?' Toothless asked worriedly. At that, the floodgates opened. Shadow and Cloey were the first there, Von not far behind. Eldurhjarta was also there, oddly.

Eldurhjarta cut over the noise of the group with an authoritative bark. 'Out of the way!'

For some reason, the others let her through. Maour stood to face her, a bemused expression sliding across his face. "What are you doing?"

Eldurhjarta sat on her back paws and held out a front paw. 'Watch my paw as it moves.' She didn't have a large range of motion, but this close it was enough to make Maour's eyes move from side to side.

He recognized this test, though he hadn't known dragons did it too. It worked off of the same principle, so it made sense both species might have independently developed it, but it was still a surprise.

'I'm the most knowledgeable about injuries and sickness,' Eldurhjarta absently explained. 'They interest me.' She abruptly slapped her tail on the ground, a painful-sounding crack echoing across the cavern. Maour wondered if she even felt it.

'No sensitivity to noise, his eyes follow fine, he seems normal in thought processes,' Eldurhjarta murmured to herself. 'Snarl.'

"What?"

'Snarl.' Eldurhjarta huffed impatiently. 'Bare your teeth, whatever you call it.'

"Smile," Maour supplied. He did.

'Good.' She shook her head. 'He's fine, though you should probably stop him from doing anything too strenuous for the rest of tonight.'

"So much for that run," Maour quipped.

'So what happened?' Shadow asked quietly. 'How close did he get?'

'Not close at all,' Toothless said neutrally. 'He's not a very skilled fighter, for some reason.'

'That's intentional,' a new voice supplied. Nóttskarpur had at some point also joined the crowd.

Toothless shrunk back a little, clearly worried about how Nóttreiði's mother was going to react to what had happened.

'We know he has anger issues,' Nóttskarpur continued, 'and it was a conscious decision to not teach him anything beyond the most basic rules of self-defense.' She warbled sadly. 'It appears that was a good decision. I apologize on his behalf, as no one else in my family would.'

'Oh.' Toothless looked down. 'I didn't hurt him too badly.'

'I know.' Nóttskarpur laughed sadly. 'You did not use your teeth or claws. I don't think it has occurred to Nóttreiði yet to wonder why.'

'It probably won't, if no one brings it up,' Cloey said in a prompting tone of voice.

'I will.' Nóttskarpur whined softly. 'I see this as my own failure, in a way. We have never been able to curb his temper, and now he has acted upon it.'

'What of Nóttleiðtogi?' Cloey inquired. 'How is he taking all of this when we are not around to see?'

'I am worried,' Nóttskarpur admitted. 'He is not sleeping and is so worked up he can't sit still. He doesn't listen to me when I tell him to relax.'

"My fault, I guess," Maour admitted.

'Possibly, but it is also his own doing.' Nóttskarpur shook her head. 'Whatever possessed you to suggest that meeting, it will at least put an end to this.'

'Hopefully,' Shadow agreed. 'Will you be there?'

'I think so,' Nóttskarpur said quickly, 'as it appears I might need to restrain Nóttreiði.'

"He's going to be there?!" Maour did not like that idea any more than Toothless, who was growling.

'Togi was yelling about him needing to learn self-control when I left, so I'm guessing it's a possibility. Don't worry, he will be kept in check.' With that, Nóttskarpur left the cavern.

"Things just keep getting better," Maour complained.

The rest of the night passed slowly, Maour confined to the family section of the caverns. Apparently, Cloey's parental instinct also included forcing her children to follow Eldurhjarta's advice when it was given. Toothless had to go out and run with Von instead. Maour settled for tagging along with Toothless's senses, which was a passable alternative.

The next night was more interesting. Von began the day on a high note.

'Really?' Toothless asked curiously. 'You're sure?'

'Apparently, the entire Nótt family is in some sort of family meeting today. Einfari was complaining about it last night, after the fight.'

"So I don't need to watch my back tonight," Maour mused. 'Anything interesting going on today?"

'Most of us are going to meet up and do something,' Von replied. 'The three Myrkur kids, Eldurhjarta and Eldurberg. Einfari would be there, but she can't. So the coast is clear.' Von warbled sadly. 'I think I'm getting through to her, but better safe than sorry for now.'

'So we can come?' Toothless asked. 'What do you guys normally do?'

'That depends on the day, but yeah, you can come.' Von grinned, having picked that expression up from Toothless. 'They've been asking about you two.'

"Well, let's go!" Maour sprang up. The three of them made their way out of the cave and into the sky.

Up in the air, Toothless faltered slightly, before regaining his control. 'Maour? Everything all right?'

"Yeah, I thought that was you." Maour looked back at the tailfin.

'Wasn't me, it was definitely your side of the tail,' Toothless replied worriedly. 'It's not messing up now, but that wasn't normal.'

"Maybe something got knocked aside or dented by the fight," Maour mused. He would have to check the whole saddle and tailfin. "Von, where are we going?" Hopefully, it was close. He didn't want to risk a messed-up tailfin more than he had to.

'Here.' Von dove down, dropping between two particularly large trees. Toothless followed suit.

Five Night Furies awaited their arrival, one of which Maour didn't remember meeting yet, another adolescent male Fury with yellow eyes. The moment Toothless touched down, Myrkursprenging and Myrkursprengja began talking.

'You fought Nóttleiðtogi and won?!' Myrkursprenging asked excitedly.

'What, no!' Toothless balked at the idea. 'It was Nóttreiði, not Nóttleiðtogi!'

'Told you, idiot.' Myrkursprengja swatted at Mykursprenging. 'Still, it must have been awesome. Eldurberg said you broke his front paw, whichever one of them it was.'

'What?' Toothless turned his attention to Eldurberg. 'I did?'

Eldurhjarta huffed angrily. 'Along with plenty of bruises and a nasty headache you probably caused by throwing him into the pillar. I treated him after Maour.' She glared at Eldurberg. 'And I've already told you not to talk about the injuries I treat. How is anyone supposed to trust me to handle more embarrassing injuries if they know you'll spread the news around?'

'But the Myrkurs didn't know what happened,' Eldurberg hastily explained, backing away from his irate sister. 'Only Myrkurheili saw, and he wanted them to pay him in fish to tell the story!'

'When we double-teamed him and pinned him he might have taken that offer back,' Muykursprengja admitted. 'And then mom made us stop asking.'

'We paid your brother for the information though!' Myrkursprenging added, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

'What?!' Eldurhjarta slapped Eldurberg with her tail. 'That's even worse!'

'I'll give you half the fish…' Eldurberg offered weakly.

'Just never do it again,' Eldurhjarta growled angrily, 'and I'll resist the temptation to give you some injuries of your own.'

'Anyway,' Myrkursprenging interjected, 'it's Vængur's turn to decide what we play.' That seemed to be the shortened name of the new Myrkur Fury.

'Hide and Seek,' Myrkurvængur immediately announced. 'I'm not it.'

A round of similar exclamations immediately followed. Everyone stared at Maour and Toothless expectantly.

"Uh…" Maour didn't know how this game worked. If Vikings played something similar, he had never gotten to. Then again, he hadn't joined many group activities voluntarily, so that wasn't so strange.

'Well?' Myrkursprengja stared at them both expectantly. 'Whoever says "not it" first isn't it, and the other one is.'

'But what is "it" in this case?' Toothless sounded as confused as Maour felt.

'What, you've never played…' Myrkursprenging trailed off. 'Oh, right.'

Maour supposed it was pretty clear Toothless hadn't gotten the chance to play many games at the volcanic nest. It didn't sound like it had been a happy place.

'Okay, so this game,' Eldurhjarta began to explain, filling the silence, 'is one of chasing and hiding. Everyone except the seeker hides, and then the seeker, the one who is "it", tries to catch them. The last one caught wins, and when someone is caught they have to switch sides and help the seeker.'

'Is flying allowed?' Toothless sounded interested now.

'Yeah, but not too high, and you have to stay over the area we're playing in.' Eldurhjarta nodded towards the mountain. 'No passing the mountain, no going into the caves, and no passing the small stream,' she looked in the other direction, 'that's over that way.'

'Then Maour and I should count as one because neither of us can get into the air alone.' Toothless glanced up at Maour, who hadn't dismounted. 'Right?'

"Yeah, that's a good point." Maour smiled. "Which I guess makes both of us the seekers for now."

At that announcement, everyone scattered. Toothless turned in a slow circle. 'Are we supposed to wait for a while so they can hide?'

"I guess so." Maour laughed. "Let's talk strategy."

'Where is she?' Toothless was doing the mental equivalent of whispering as he crept through the underbrush.

It was the middle of the night, but the moon was full, so Maour was hardly at a disadvantage with his improved eyesight. The dense forest would prevent them from flying much, if at all, but up was certainly a direction his eyes wandered quite frequently as they could still climb trees.

Toothless was particularly interested in finding Von first because she was his sister, but there were five other targets to snoop out, so he kept his eyes open.

"I'm not sure," Maour whispered as quietly as he could. Hopefully, nobody heard him. Toothless could, through the mental link, and that was exactly what they were exploiting in their "divide and conquer" strategy of separating to find everyone.

Maour saw something. But he wasn't sure if that blob was a Fury, and if he moved to get closer they might see him. "Toothless, check my vision. Is that her?" Toothless might not be able to see any better from Maour's eyes, but it was a second opinion.

'Yup. Be careful. She's fast.'

Maour knew this very well. Von had had eleven years of practice in these very forests. But this time Maour had the element of surprise. He only had to tag her. He leaped from his hidden spot and ran at her as fast and as silently as he could.

She saw him coming and bolted. He smiled as he chased her through the forest. She was widening the gap, but he knew something she didn't.

Von looked back at him and grinned as she ran, an extremely smug look on her face. She might even have been considering taunting him, but at that moment she felt a change in the terrain under her paws. She looked down. Maour had chased her right to a moderately large river, the one the group had picked as the boundary for this game. He had managed to corner her. She looked downriver, the only direction she had left to run, and saw Toothless running towards her.

'No fair! Why'd you guys find me first?' Von whined.

Maour walked forward while she was distracted and tagged her. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"Anyone we tag has to help us tag out the others. So we went to find you first, to get your help." He shrugged.

'We don't know the forest, but you do.' Toothless sidled up next to her. He sat down on the bank of the stream.

Von's expression softened. 'In that case...' She abruptly hip-checked Toothless into the stream and Maour quickly followed thanks to her immediate tailspin. She purred at their shocked faces. 'I'll help. Next time, don't cheat by splitting up. Even if it was the only way you could catch me.' She was laughing softly now.

"Who called you shy?" Maour grumbled, getting out of the water. "I'd like to have a word with them."

Von laughed softly. 'You're family, all bets are off.'

"Cold, wet family at the moment," Maour replied, watching Toothless dry himself off with a plasma blast, as he had done so long ago in the cove.

Von responded by flaming the ground in front of her, baking the muddy grass. 'Here.'

"That works, but I'm not catching anyone like this." Maour quickly scrambled onto the now pleasantly warm ground in front of Von. It wasn't particularly cold out, but it was the middle of the night and somewhat windy. He shivered despite the warm ground.

'What are you doing now?' Von stared down at Maour.

"What?" The wind rose for a moment. "Oh, this. The wind is cold too."

Von sat on her hind legs, looking concerned. 'Is it bad? Here.' She brought her wings around to block the wind.

"Much better. A wet and cold human doesn't last very long," Maour quipped.

'Like a fledgling,' Von observed, sounding entirely serious.

'That sounds right,' Toothless chuckled.

"I resent that." After a moment, Maour had an idea. "Von, you know this area and the other Furies…"

'Yeah.' Von shook her head. 'But it's my fault you're too cold to play, so I'm not leaving.'

"Toothless," Maour grinned, calling out to his brother, who was watching, "You carry on. We'll advise you from here." There were no rules against that.

'On it!' Toothless ran into the forest.

What followed was fun, even from the sidelines. Maour watched and relayed to Von what Toothless was doing, and she supplied information, such as preferred hiding spots and tactics. Toothless couldn't fly, but none of the other Furies tried to flee by air, the trees usually being too dense to do so effectively. That, combined with Toothless's tactic of moving through the trees, high above the ground, easily smoked out Eldurhjarta and Eldurberg, who had both chosen to hunker down in thick patches of bushes. With their help, the Myrkurs were quickly found, though catching them was more difficult.

By the end of that round, Maour was dry enough to rejoin the game. The night passed quickly, time falling to the simple and light-hearted activity.

It had been a long time since Maour played with a group of people, none of whom disliked him. Really, the last time had probably been back before Snotlout had been old enough to hate him. At least a decade. That, combined with the fact that no one seemed to care that they were all teenagers, made the games even more fun.

The specter of the looming confrontation with Nóttleiðtogi did not bother Maour that day, or the next when they repeated the activity, the Nótts nowhere to be found. It was a calm night, and hopefully one that would not preceed another storm.

The night of the confrontation was still and quiet, almost as if the island was collectively holding its breath. The moon was clear in the sky, and the wind a constant flow of cold air.

"He never really specified a time," Maour noted to the tense cave. "Any idea when we should show up?"

'Who's going?' Von asked anxiously.

'Well, we know most of the Nótts will be there,' Shadow mused. 'How about we all show up? As a show of silent support.' He glanced over at Toothless. 'Unless they attack, this is a matter of words, between Maour and Nóttleiðtogi.'

'Unless, he says.' Toothless nodded. 'We should all go, you're right.'

'That reminds me,' Cloey added, 'did anyone tell people that we adopted Maour?'

'Nope.' Toothless grinned. 'Never crossed my mind.'

'Neither did I.' Von shifted uncomfortably. 'It didn't feel like something the Nótts needed to know yet. I'm going to tell Einfari after this though, if that's okay.' She didn't seem happy with having kept a secret from her friend.

'That should be fine, Von. So it appears that it is not yet a known fact.' Shadow flicked his ears, heading for the exit of the cave. 'I am unsure as to what use it will be, but we should keep it that way during this confrontation, unless Maour needs it known.'

"How would that help?" Maour really didn't see what his adoption could do except to convince Nóttleiðtogi that he was even more dangerous, manipulative enough to get that close to the Svartur family.

'It probably will not,' Shadow admitted, 'I am firing into mist. Really, there is nothing more we can do except show up and see how it plays out.'

"On that note," Maour moved over to check Toothless's saddle, "We'll be fine on the 'getting there' part." He pulled at a metal rod. "One of the connecting rods needs to be replaced soon, but it will hold for a while yet." That was what had messed them up in the air. A bent rod, just slightly out of shape, likely thanks to Nóttreiði.

'What does that mean, exactly?' Shadow moved closer, examining what Maour was doing.

Maour felt a wave of surprise. He was not used to having a father figure who actually wanted to hear about his inventions. Even Gobber only cared about what they were supposed to do, not how they worked.

"The rod is part of a chain of parts that pull the tainfin out and push it in," Maour explained, demonstrating as he did. Toothless craned his neck to watch.

'So what is wrong with it being bent?' Shadow looked closer. 'It still pulls, right?'

"Yeah, which is why it isn't a big deal." Maour smiled. "But it's bent, which makes it a bit shorter, meaning the controls are slightly offset. It won't close all the way, because it's always slightly pulled."

'I see.' Literally, as Shadow's eye was right next to the rod. 'Can it not be unbent?'

"Not without risking snapping it entirely," Maour replied, "Which would be annoying to fix. I'd have to go out with another dragon, find an island with a village, and replace it there. We'll still have to do that, actually, but at least this way it's just us two having to make the trip."

'No, not just you two,' Cloey interrupted, looking nervous. 'That would be dangerous. You'll have at least one other dragon with you when you go.'

'Fine with me,' Toothless agreed, pulling his tail away. 'We should get up there soon.' Then a thought seemed to strike him. 'Or not. Make them wait.'

'You want to make Togi more annoyed?' Shadow asked with a sarcastic tone.

'Point taken. Let's go!' Toothless quickly bounded for the exit.

The mountaintop was already occupied when the entire Svartur family reached it, setting down on one edge.

It seemed that Nótteinfari was also there, and she seemed quite surprised to see Von, who met her stare challengingly. Nóttreiði was off to the far side, with his mother between him and the rest of the mountaintop. Nóttskarpur warbled in greeting at Cloey, who warbled back, going over to sit by her. The two families intermixed on the summit, Einfari and Von sitting together, along with Nóttskarpur and Cloey, while Shadow approached Nóttleiðtogi. Toothless and Maour stood awkwardly in the center of the stone plateau, waiting.

'I'm not getting more than five steps from you,' Toothless warned Maour. 'If things go bad, we're out of here, before Nóttleiðtogi can strike.'

"Not worried about Nóttreiði?" Maour teased nervously. "Don't get too confident, even if you beat him once."

'Nóttskarpur will handle him. I believe she will, anyway.' Toothless huffed irritably. 'I wish they'd just get over their issues with this. Nóttskarpur seems nice, and apparently Nótteinfari isn't that set against you, but the other two…'

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Maour really wished that everyone would have been as okay with him as the entire Myrkur family apparently was, or at least curious like the Eldurs. Then again, he felt like both of those families were a little less worldly than the Svarturs and the Nótts, so it might just be they weren't experienced enough to really understand just how much of a fluke Maour was. Or maybe they weren't that naive. He really didn't know.

Nóttleiðtogi shook off whatever Shadow had been saying, leaving his friend to approach Maour.

This was it. Hopefully this encounter would end the suspicion, or at least alleviate it a bit, if Nóttleiðtogi could really smell truthfulness or more in the right conditions. Maour stood a few steps from Toothless, in a non-threatening posture. Not that he could really be that threatening, but Nóttleiðtogi had flinched before, so it was clearly possible.

That was a story Maour wanted to know, but at the same time knew he wasn't going to hear it any time soon. What in the world had made Nóttleiðtogi the way he was?

Some of it was obvious, words and actions from Nóttleiðtogi himself. The deaths of his family, at the hands of humans. But there had to be more, to cause such a clear reaction. There was more, by what Shadow had said, worse Maour did not know.

Now was not the right time to think about that. Now was time to speak truthfully, to try and break through an intelligent dragon's boundless suspicion.

Nóttleiðtogi circled around Maour and Toothless, stopping downwind of them.

'Svarturkappi, you must move away from the human,' Nóttleiðtogi commanded in a blank, neutral tone. 'I must be able to smell him without interference.'

Toothless took one more step to the side. 'That's as far as I'm going. Your family does not have a good track record.'

'That is sufficient.' That neutral tone never wavered, though a hint of annoyance crept in at Toothless's words. Nóttleiðtogi turned his attention to Maour. 'You will answer these questions truthfully, or I will know.'

"Yes, I will." Maour wanted to say more, to say that Nóttleiðtogi had better believe the subconscious scents Maour would unintentionally put out, but even calling that into question felt like handing Nóttleiðtogi another excuse to keep disbelieving. Maour was not willing to take that chance.

'What is your name?' It was probably a testing question, meant to check even that simple piece of information, but for Maour it was not so simple.

"Which one?"

'The first name you were ever given,' Nóttleiðtogi specified.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third." That was easy enough, but Maour felt a disconnect all the same. It felt like speaking a stranger's name.

'You are not lying, but you are uneasy. Explain.' It seemed the wind was good, the scents clear. Good.

"It's really not my name anymore." Maour took a deep breath. "Svarturflugmaður is, as is Maour." Two names, one formal and one informal, both officially his.

Nóttleiðtogi chuffed in surprise, probably at the Night-Fury-style name Maour had given. The spectators were silent.

'Have you ever attacked a dragon with the intent of killing them?' Nóttleiðtogi sounded a bit less neutral, as if he was sure of the answer.

Maour made a quick decision. He could play it safe, cite the Queen and leave it at that, or…

"Yes, several times. The only time I ever came close was in shooting Toothless down, and in killing the Queen." It was a very good thing that he had been so ineffective with his devices.

'You shot a Night Fury out of the sky with the intent to kill.' Nóttleiðtogi sounded smug, under that facade of impassiveness.

"Yes-"

'A confession.' Nóttleiðtogi hummed smugly, though he didn't seem that certain of his words.

"You didn't let me finish. I couldn't make myself kill him, when the chance really came." Again, the truth. "I chose not to, and have never regretted that decision."

'Because you saw a chance to benefit from the situation.' Nóttleiðtogi was no longer even pretending to be neutral, though he had not moved from his spot in front of Maour, clearly trying to glean as much information as possible from his scent.

"No, not at all." Maour crossed his arms.

'I find it hard to believe you acted with no selfish motives.' Nóttleiðtogi snorted derisively.

"Well, believe it. Not letting him go would have given me everything I ever wanted at the time. Respect, vindication, my rightful place in the tribe, maybe even a date. Letting him go gave up all of that. Permanently, it turns out."

'Okay,' and now Nóttleiðtogi seemed uncomfortable, 'what are your current goals in regards to this island?' It was odd, that he had switched subjects so quickly.

"To fit in, and not be hated by my new neighbors," Maour replied with a bit of anger. "It's been going great, except for a few people…"

Nóttleiðtogi snarled quietly, still not moving an inch. 'Do you harbor any negative emotions towards me or my family?'

"Not really, though your jumping around in these questions is getting annoying." Maour was beginning to find being forced to tell the truth and hold nothing back freeing. "I pity you and your son, because clearly my very existence here is messing up your lives, and it's also clear you personally are traumatized and scared by me." He paused. "Your mate seems nice, and I don't really know Nótteinfari. I know Nótthljóður likes me, and I like little kids. Well, little Night Furies. I didn't really interact with any little human kids." There weren't that many on war-torn Berk, which actually didn't make much sense, given they lost people every year. Berk must chiefly survive on immigrants. That actually might also explain why Berkians were so stupid as a rule, if they had mostly chosen to come to Berk to live. Or maybe that was just some deep-seated bitterness speaking.

Nóttleiðtogi visibly inhaled, and seemed utterly shocked by what Maour assumed was a confirmation that he spoke the truth, calmly and a bit sadly.

There was a muffled commotion from where Nóttskarpur stood, but Maour didn't move his gaze from Nóttleiðtogi. Nóttskarpur was taking care of it.

'What… what do you think of humans?' Nóttleiðtogi seemed confused.

"That's a weird question." Maour considered it. "Really, they're not one group. There are good ones, bad ones, neutral ones, and terrible ones. It's not black and white."

'Why do you refer to them as "they", you're one of them!' Nóttleiðtogi was panting now, straining to inhale as deeply as possible. It was a bit unnerving.

'Around here, Viking means dragon-killer." Maour shrugged. "And human means Viking. I am not one, so I am not really the other, in any way except body. I'd probably trade this body for one like yours if ever given the choice, but that's not possible, so I do the best with what I've got." Although then Toothless wouldn't be able to fly… maybe not.

Nóttleiðtogi literally staggered at that one, his nostrils flaring as if he didn't believe what he was smelling.

The absurdity of being finally vindicated by how he smelled hit Maour at that moment, and he had to fight to keep a straight face. All of his words meant nothing to Nóttleiðtogi, but combined with how he smelled, they were physically rocking the suspicious dragon. It just felt ridiculous.

For Nóttleiðtogi, it was clearly no laughing matter. 'Do you want to hurt any dragon?'

"None I've ever met, and they'd have to do something really bad to get me that mad." Maour smirked. "No, you haven't made that list yet. Really, only the Queen ever has."

That didn't make Nóttleiðtogi any calmer. 'You are a human, what could possibly possess you to-?'

"You should know more than enough to figure that out on your own," Maour said solemnly. "This is my family, and this is my home. Berk never really was, and I see that now more than ever. You're the biggest issue I have here, and you can't hold a flame to my life there." Another expression adapted on the fly, but it felt right. He didn't even bother mentioning Nóttreiði. Dealing with homicidal neighbors wasn't anything new nowadays.

'I don't…' Nóttleiðtogi broke eye contact. 'I can't even look at you without feeling fear. How are you the one in the right?' It was disjointed, tired. Broken. Maour had finally gotten through, and it had destroyed Nóttleiðtogi, by all appearances. There was no visible turning point aside from Nóttleiðtogi's sudden despair, but it was clear. He could no longer deny it.

That did not make Maour feel good at all. "I don't know what happened to you, but you can heal. I'll help you, but I think you just have to try. You could push me away, keep denying that I'm not so bad, but it won't help. Or…"

'Or… you could help me.' Nóttleiðtogi sounded incredulous. 'Humans broke me, and one wants to help fix me. It's ridiculous.' At least he knew he had issues.

"So?" Maour took a step forward. "This clearly isn't working." He gestured to the mountaintop. "We're all up here because we want you to see the truth, in one way or another." Except maybe Nóttreiði, who was here because Nóttleiðtogi wanted to teach him restraint, but it was true of all the others, to some degree.

'I am.' Toothless stepped forward. 'I was here to support Maour, but I'll help you if I can.'

Cloey nodded. 'As am I.'

Shadow caught Nóttleiðtogi's eye. 'I told you to be ready for anything. You have my aid too, friend, and always will.'

Von nudged Einfari, and after a few whispered statements, Einfari stepped forward. 'And if he really spoke truth, we'll need your help to deal with this, so you need to figure it out.' That seemed callous, but it perked Nóttleiðtogi up slightly more than any of the other offers of support.

There was then a dissenting voice. 'Dad, don't listen to them! It's tricking you again, somehow!' Nóttreiði yelled from behind Nóttskarpur. He sounded almost desperate.

Nóttleiðtogi wavered at that, his eyes closing for a moment. After a while he spoke. 'I see now that that would be the easy explanation, the obvious one, the one that fits what I know.'

Maour's heart dropped.

'But since when has the easy path been the right one?' That was said dryly, if pained. 'Son, stand down. My nose does not lie, and it could not have been more clear in proving… Maour's… intentions.' Nóttleiðtogi was very clearly struggling, and he looked old, worn down, but he was trying. That was all that really mattered.

Until he staggered, taking a step towards Nóttskarpur. Everyone surged forward, but he righted himself alone. 'I'm fine…'

'No, you are not.' Nóttskarpur fixed Nóttreiði with a warning glare before rushing to Nóttleiðtogi's side. 'You've worn yourself out.'

'Not really my best plan,' Nóttleiðtogi admitted weakly. He had dropped whatever paranoid energy had been driving him, and now looked like he was near collapse.

'Will you be able to make it down the mountain?' Shadow looked at Nóttleiðtogi critically. He didn't sound hopeful.

'Yes, I'll make it.' Nóttleiðtogi turned to stare at Maour for a moment more. Was there apology in his gaze? If there was, he did not voice it. That was too drastic a change to expect so soon. It was enough for Maour that the rampant suspicion was gone, and that there was some measure of peace in Nóttleiðtogi's eyes, residing alongside the subtle pain and piercing gaze.

Looking at him and seeing that, Maour could see a tiny bit of how Nóttleiðtogi and Shadow were similar. They both had a depth to their eyes, though Nóttleiðtogi's was pained. Not pure intelligence, not pure experience, but a way of looking at things, perhaps.

'I need time.' Nóttleiðtogi faltered. 'And probably help.'

"My offer stands." Maour spread his arms. "I'm not going anywhere, so anytime is good." Help would probably consist of just spending time around Nóttleiðtogi, but that was fine. Maour was beginning to realize that he truly did want to help, would even if it did not benefit him. There was something about seeing a hurt person and knowing one could aid in their recovery, mental or physical.

'Come to me if I do not follow up,' Nóttleiðtogi asked almost desperately. 'Do not let me convince myself that this is all a trick. I see my own failings now, and I don't know if this clarity will last.'

"Deal." Maour resisted the urge to approach Nóttleiðtogi and do something stupid, like touch the dragon. Nóttleiðtogi was the definition of jumpy and dangerous, and Maour wanted to keep all of his limbs intact… no matter how much Nóttleiðtogi looked like he could benefit from reassurance.

Then again, maybe someone else had that covered. Nóttskarpur had moved to Nóttleiðtogi's side and was practically glued to him, ushering him to the edge of the summit, along with Nótteinfari.

'I will not remind him,' Toothless remarked, staring at Nóttreiði, who was glaring at them. 'If he cannot hold to his own word, there is nothing we can do. He will be banished.'

"He's just glaring." Maour hoped Nóttreiði's anger might dissipate eventually, but…

Nóttreiði was glaring at Toothless, not even sparing a glance for Maour. Maybe the anger had shifted. That wasn't much better, but maybe it was a start.

Really, that was how all of this felt. Small improvements, only good in comparison to what they had improved upon. Nóttreiði mad at Toothless instead of Maour, or in addition to Maour. It was really more hope for improvement in that case. For Nóttleiðtogi, it was a bit more true change, though it seemed to have almost broken Nóttleiðtogi in the process.

"Why was Nóttleiðtogi so stressed?" Maour asked no one in particular.

Surprisingly, Von immediately answered. 'Einfari said he hasn't slept in five days. He apparently spent all day every day guarding their caves.'

Well, that would do it.

And there was another small improvement. Nótteinfari. That was entirely Von's work, but it was definitely an improvement. Although something felt almost off in the way she looked at him now…

That was probably paranoia. Maour had just seen how going down that road went, so he didn't fall for it.

Small improvements.