AN: Hello my fellow readers and welcome to the first HTLIG chapter of 2017. I apologize for the lame title (at least I think it is lame, compared to the previous ones).

So, review response:

V01dsw0rd: I gave you a detailed reply through PM for your review, but, to put things short, no, Nightflight is not inspired by Wintergale of the story 'Ice Fury'. It happens to be a coincidence that they share some similarities. This is an old arc I wrote, more than a year ago, and before I was even aware of such story.

aKaDeca: I'm happy that you liked the story, and I hope you continue thoroughly enjoying it

Pietersielie: Thank you for reading it. This story wouldn't be anything but a small tale that came from my head without my fellow readers.

OechsnerC: Maybe, maybe not. That's something I haven't decided yet. On one had, she and Nightflight would make a great pair. On the other hand, there is the issue of realistically making her not only bond with Nightflight but also ride her. At least until we reach the events of the movie. And even after them it would still not be so easy to make her a dragon rider

Kilo8: Now I got curious. What do you think that I am planning on writing?

thearizona: I thought I explained it well during her love talk with Elsa, but, to put in simple words, Primrose is Agdar's sister (another bit I take of Echoes of Falling Snow story). That makes Primrose Idun's sister-in-law. Maybe he will, maybe he will just send Nightflight away :P

KE12: Indeed, I believe you expressed how each one of us write quite precisely. Also, speaking of which, great chapter! (I know you posted it a few weeks ago). And, as always, I'm very happy that you enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this as well.

LunarCatNinja: You know Hiccup, he is as lucky as he is unlucky with his plans :P but I'm sure he appreciates it

shiningmoonslayer: I'm happy that you have enjoyed my story thus far. As I've said before the updates will be erratic, but I promise to never leave this story, not until I finish it

Noctus Fury: A website? Sounds interesting. I wish you all the luck with it. What is this website about? And it's alright. I think all of us understand how busy can one be. The love description wasn't me alone. Author SpicedGold helped me, and even wrote a good chunk of that part. If anything, you should be praising her instead of me. Actually in this fandom I don't think they have, but on the HTTYD fandom I'm sure that the stories more Toothless focused gave him a sister. Can't remember any names though. And well, he does have been with Elsa for a month. She would have introduced him on basic Geography, which includes telling him the name of the ocean :P

Agentweapon Proelium-Tempus: I must admit, it certainly is not easy to keep up with all of them (I still feel I don't write enough of Anna and Kai and Gerda) but thank you for the compliment.

Without further ado:

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Not very far from their location, inside an imposing castle made of stone and wood, built long before any of the tiny houses around it were planned, and watchful of Arendelle since its first days, Elsa was sitting on her bench, looking at the sunset with a longing gaze.

She was missing Hiccup.

He was gone for almost three nights, as this marked his second completely away from the castle. Away from the tower. Away from her.

She visited the place, even though it lacked the warm Viking-but-not-Viking boy and his faithful companion, and friend. She peaked at his notes, his drawings, finding warmth in his drawings and writings, even if most were just key points of the books she read for him.

A tear fell from her eyes, quiet and silent, going unnoticed by its maker. Elsa's heart ached with longing, with loneliness. Her mother had been right. A friend's love doesn't change the world, but it's hard to go back to the life prior to it.

She sniffed, now mindful of the tear in her cheek. She hastily cleaned it, in anger and frustration and heartache and sadness. Concealing her emotions was no longer possible; she was wise enough to know when to give up on that.

And yet, she had yet to have an outburst. She may have awakened with her bed covered in frost the past two days, but didn't have a single incident of actually shooting out snow. She wasn't freezing her books, and there wasn't a single snowflake in the air.

She was puzzled, but she was too tired, was aching too much to think about it properly. She just want Hiccup back so she could see his smile and make him listen to an earful so big he would blush for an entire week.

The dream of their kiss still plagued her mind, but more with curiosity rather than doubt. She needed to see him to see if these feelings, the ones from her dream, were true. She suspected not, considering her mother's explanation of love.

Still, she needed to be sure. She can only be in control when she is sure of things. And in control she can't hurt anyone.

The sketch of him and Toothless was finished. She did more, burning more candles than she ever did, and she stored them inside her little diary, where all that mattered to her was stored.

She needed to conceal, but at this moment, with the last inches of the sunlight bathing her white skin, all she wanted was to feel, to feel safe and comfortable with the only friend she ever had.

Sighing she shook her head, knowing it was futile to try to sway her thoughts away from him. She wanted to protect him, as he was protecting her. But, while he was out there, controlling a dragon that could burn all she held dear, here she was, cowering in her room because of fear.

"I'm not afraid. And I am not cowering. This is safety; safety for Anna, for Mama and Papa, for Arendelle. He is protecting us from the unknown, from the mysterious and the myth. And I am doing the same," she muttered to no one, steeling herself and fisting her hands.

"You are Elsa of Arendelle. You are protecting everyone from yourself, your magic. You can conceal. And for his good, and everyone's you need to. They need a strong girl. You need a strong girl. Be strong for them, for him and Anna." With new-found, if misplaced, resolution, she strode to her desk and sat on its chair, readying herself to brave the lessons she had had with her mother early this day, but failed to focus on it.

It was Winter, and the days were short. But, to Elsa, it was not a worry. With two candles lit she opened her books and resumed her studies, taking in everything, not as much because she wanted but more because she needed.

The fact that her eyes glanced every few minutes to the drawing of Toothless and Hiccup half concealed by her journal never registered on her mind.

007

"Sun's up," the voice which all three of the Furies momentously hated as it was what awoke all of them said. "We need to restock our wood and hunt, and stay on guard. The snow melted slightly and the weather is clear. That means predator and prey will come out."

'Of all the times you decide to act like some organized leader, scrawny boy, you had to pick this one?' Windwalker muttered, earning a hum from Toothless. 'Give us another half hour. I'm sure you can stay a little longer without food.'

"Oh," Hiccup feigned shock and disbelief, "I'm sorry. I didn't know Grandpa was feeling sore today. I can clearly hear your bones creaking, and see the grey scales on you. How I am such a foolish boy. I'll let you rest old creature."

'Very well,' the White Fury said nonchalantly, earning a huff of annoyance from Hiccup while faking sleep. He didn't fake for long, because he burst out laughing. Opening his eyes to look at Hiccup, who was currently pouting. 'You do know your pouting is very cute, don't you?'

Hiccup turned a shade of red Nightflight wasn't sure humans could ever turn to. He started muttering, saying things like 'Grandpa seem playful today' or 'White Fury on the outside, Gronckle on the inside' to annoy Windwalker.

'Alright, alright, I'll go fetch you some food, grumpy hatchling,' he said, sounding more amused than annoyed at Hiccup's muttering. Toothless was laughing, as he enjoyed very much when Hiccup and Windwalker bashed at each other like this, while the white dragon slowly left the Cave.

Windwalker left the Cave, leaving Hiccup to stay with the two dragons. He did start feeling a bit left out when he noticed Toothless and Nightflight seemed to be engaged in a conversation of sorts.

He settled on sitting down, with his back leaning on Toothless, to write on his journal while they waited for the food and wood to come. The fire was dying, and even though Hiccup knew Toothless would keep him warm, it would still mean that he wouldn't have enough light to write or draw.

With a sigh he opened his journal, finding the map he had drawn folded inside it. He opened it, happy that both the tint he used kept the map from blurring when folded and that it was fairly precise, considering it was his first attempt at mapping a place.

Recalling how he first had the idea of doing this map made Hiccup's thoughts steer toward Elsa. Beautiful, elegant, shy and mysterious Elsa. He sighed, longing for her presence, her shy smiles and beautiful voice.

"I thought I was whole, that my home was with my dragons. I had assumed I wouldn't miss anyone else, because I assumed I'd never get attached again. I thought my longing for Astrid ached, but my longing for you aches equally."

He never noticed both dragons looking at him, one with curiosity and other with worry.

007

An hour later Windwalker arrived lightly coated in snow. The clear weather had abruptly changed, giving in to falling snow. 'We may be trapped here for the rest of the day. But I got enough food and wood for all of us.'

The good thing about his body type was that he could carry considerable more resources without needing human-made satchels and bags. His wings unfolded, showing plenty of fish, enough to last them a day, and some firewood to keep the campfire alive.

'I'm sorry Hiccup, but it seems that you won't be returning to Your Princess today,' he said with a teasing tone, knowing that, even though Hiccup had no feelings for Elsa as he had for Astrid, he would still get embarrassed.

Much to his surprise, however, Hiccup saddened instead of flushing. Turning his head toward to Toothless, the White Fury silently asked what had happened.

"He's been thinking of the girl a lot today. Even started drawing her. I've only seen this happen regarding that Astrid girl. He may not have deep feelings for the Princess, but he yearns for the comfort and safety her presence gives him."

Windwalker shrugged, deciding to keep quiet about the matter. Hiccup absentmindedly threw a log onto the fire, keeping it alive so he could continue his drawing.

It was a drawing of Elsa.

"I don't understand," Nightflight quietly spoke, surprising both dragons. While thankful of their, and the boy's, company she was still very shy.

Years of living alone didn't help her social skills.

"How come you two ended up with him? And here, so far from home?" she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Windwalker and Toothless glanced at each other, before the later decided to speak up. "Our story doesn't begin at the same time, but got entwined on the same event. I worked for the Queen, destroying his village's defenses against dragons."

"One day, however, I was shot down, losing half of my tailfin in the process." His voice held no sorrow or bitterness, which was something that surprised Nightflight. "The next day, when I woke up, I saw this hatchling coming toward me with a night no bigger than Windwalker's claws."

"Considering how he spoke, I realized that it was him who had shot me down. I felt angry,"-Nightflight nodded, feeling slightly angry at Hiccup-"but also impressed,"-Toothless emphasized the last word as he sensed his sister's anger.

Sister… it still felt odd to him to think this, but he pushed the idea away. "I felt impressed, because he was so skinny and weak, and yet he downed one of the mightiest types of dragons."

"He shot me down to prove himself worthy for his tribesmen, but he didn't kill me. Instead, he freed me. And, as my conduit of honor commands, I couldn't kill him. So, before leaving, I just frightened him."

"I ended up falling on a Cove, getting trapped inside there. Fortunately, his curiosity led him to find me, and to study me. He learned more about dragon, and I learned more about him. We ended up bonding, and he decided to build a tailfin as a way to atone his mistake."

"This one can be operated without him, but the first one he built needed him to operate. Which meant I needed a rider. Because of this, our bond deepened, and now I don't think I could ever go to life without him again."

"With Windwalker, it's different. His village held him captive for decades. Before he and I left Berk, he decided to free Windwalker, asking only that he would follow us through our journey, in return. He accepted, and ever since we've been together."

Nightflight didn't know what to say. She was half-wary of Hiccup because he was a Viking, even if he was an odd one. But to hear such show of compassion completely debunked her opinion about the boy.

"I guess it's my turn to tell all of you how I ended up so far from home?" she meekly asked, earning a nod from both dragons. Windwalker subtly warned Hiccup, and decided to translate her speech to the boy as she talked.

"Well, I guess I should start by how I am alive. When I was born, my sire gave me my name as a way to mock me, since my contrasting color removed one of the prime abilities of a Child of Night. I was with them for a fortnight, which was the time they took to decide with the elder my fate, I guess."

"We were few, I think, so they couldn't risk having me around."

"After this period I was brought and left on a seemingly desert island by them. I was supposed to die starving since I was a disgrace to my kin." She paused, noticing Hiccup's equally pitiful and angry look on his face. "I understand that the boy's sire didn't completely give up on him like mine did, but he has to understand that dragons can be quite cold hearted."

She looked away, an action that showed Hiccup that she was still hurt by her sire's action. He quietly walked toward her, and sat, leaning his back on her belly, surprising her, while gently asking permission to scratch her behind her ear.

She smiled, a genuine smile she hadn't worn in her face for a long time. She decided to keep telling her story, or else she would fall asleep by his touch. "Turns out, the island wasn't deserted. There was a small nest there, lacking strength."

"They took me in, teaching me what I had to know to survive. Some were kinder than others, but they never gave me the affection of a family. I grew up, and when I was old enough, I started helping them hunting and fishing."

"They weren't talkative, neither with me, nor among them, but we knew what we had to do. One day, though, a Viking expedition arrived at the island, killing most of us, and driving the few alive away. I never saw any of them again."

She dismissed Hiccup's sympathetic smile, albeit being grateful. "I can't say I miss them. There was never an emotional attachment with them." Hiccup looked away, understanding that she was talking to him.

Not wishing to sadden him more than he already is she nudged his hand, showing that, while unnecessary, she appreciated his gesture. "I lived the next years in a Cave, fishing enough for me, and practicing my flight and fighting abilities. Most of my days were composed of fishing, training and sleep. Rarely a rogue dragon appeared to try to claim that Cave."

"However there was a time a dragon mistook me for, I guess, the White Fury. After he realized I wasn't him he attacked, thus engaging me in combat. I defeated him, and… in exchange for his life he offered me information about you all."

"He told me of a rumor that a lone Viking rode the Light and the Night, standing defiant against his own kin and our kin, wandering throughout the Archipelago. No one knew their names, and supposedly few ever saw them."

"What was known was that this human had forged a forbidden friendship with the deadliest kin alive, becoming a formidable opponent, and a force to be reckoned with. No one knew their destination, except that they were always heading South. I got curious, since he spoke of what could easily be the last of my kin. I decided to venture South, meeting new dragons. Some were friendly, some were not. Before I crossed the Snow Belt, a rogue told me that more dragons were chasing your myth."

"But, as they were afraid of crossing the Snow Belt, they formed their own Nest. The Queen was, needless to say, unhappy. The last I've heard was that many dragons were fighting one another, even during the raids-"

Hiccup stood up abruptly, startling the white dragon and thus accidentally silencing her. "T-that means the Queen is weak," he said with a surprised, elated tone. But, soon his eyes fell. "But… I still don't know how to defeat her… I still don't know if they would listen to me. And…"

He looked away, as if ashamed, "I've made a promise to Elsa. I can't leave without breaking it. I… I need to think, if we stay, if we go…" Hiccup walked toward the entrance, gazing at the snowstorm railing on outside, while thinking of their next course of action.