Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: Right, so the 'weekly update' has now become a 'whenever I feel like it' update. I'm sure you guys aren't complaining, though.

I thought it would be fun to do a Q&A session with you guys, but because FFN rules say you can't post non-stories, it would have to be on my tumblr. You can ask me questions about my stories, world-building, thoughts on HTTYD stuff or just stuff about me in general.

So here, have a link to my homepage: h-t-t-p-s: / / all things 10blue10 dot tumblr dot com / post / 167115568152 /about-me (fill in gaps as necessary), and Ask Away!

Chapter Three

Autumn 1064

Five young adult dragon riders, graduates of the Berk Dragon Academy, stood in the training ring. They'd been chosen for something, though they didn't know what, and were waiting for Headmaster Fishlegs and Hiccup to arrive.

Fishlegs arrived first, buzzing into the arena on Meatlug. "Good morning, everyone!" he beamed cheerfully, dismounting and stepping forwards. "You're all here, good. I'm sure Hiccup and Toothless will be here soon, but if you're wondering what's going on here, we've" – he was interrupted by the familiar battle shriek of a diving Night Fury.

Toothless swooped down, pulled off a loop the loop just to show off, and landed with an elegant pounce. Meatlug and the other dragons all bowed their heads submissively, briefly, in deference to their Alphas. Hiccup removed his helmet, smoothed his hair down (or tried to, anyway) and apologised, "Sorry we're late, had to break up a fight. Hey, guys" he smiled at the students.

They greeted him simultaneously. Then the Hooligan student – there was one from each tribe – pointed out "Uncle Fishlegs, you still haven't told us what's going on here."

"I was getting to that, Brenda. Actually, Hiccup, why don't you take this one?"

"Sure. So, the Chief has decided that she and I need…successors, as it were, to take over our roles should we be incapacitated or…absent" Hiccup said delicately. He should have known better, he was talking to Vikings. Braun, the student from the Outcast tribe, asked bluntly "You mean if you get killed?"

"That's part of it, yes. Just to be clear, Astrid and I aren't planning to get killed anytime soon. Anyway, we decided that it was in the best interests of all the tribes, not just the Hooligans, if I trained a 'dragon whisperer', or ambassador, or whatever you want to call it, from each tribe. Fishlegs and I narrowed the choice down to the five of you" Hiccup explained.

The young riders looked at each other in amazement and a bit of confusion. Hiccup elaborated, "You've all learned so much at this Academy, but there are some things we haven't taught you, at least not in detail. I'm going to teach you how to deal with dragons like I do, and stop conflicts between dragons and humans to keep the peace between our species."

"Wait a second" said Otto, of the Berserker Tribe, "Did you say 'stop'? You want us to stop fights?" he protested incredulously. Braun, and Ashildr of the Bog-Burglars, didn't seem too pleased with the idea either.

Hiccup sighed. "I'm talking about stopping conflicts between humans and dragons; not just actual dangerous fights, but the bigger picture, the enmity between man and dragon kind. That's the goal I'm working towards, and I can't do it alone, which is why I need riders like you. If it's two Vikings fighting, you can stand back and watch to your hearts content" he told them.

Fishlegs looked disapproving. "You shouldn't encourage them."

"I'm not, I'm just saying they can watch, not get involved."

"But they will."

"You know we can hear you, right?" Brenda asked rhetorically. She looked at Hiccup and inquired, "Does this mean I get to replace you if you get killed?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that, but…essentially, yes" he agreed. "Any questions? And before you ask, we didn't pick Brenda just because she's Fishlegs' niece."

"This sounds boring" said Otto of the Berserker Tribe.

"Technically, that was a statement" Fishlegs noted, ever pedantic.

"It won't be as boring as you think" Hiccup replied, but then he realised how that sounded. "What I mean is, stopping conflicts means getting in the middle of them, without making things worse, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Not to mention…you guys remember a few years ago, when Berk was attacked by dragon hunters?" he asked.

"Of course." Brenda nearly rolled her eyes; everyone remembered that.

"Uh, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked nervously, "Are you sure we should-?"

"If Astrid doesn't like it, I'll take the heat" Hiccup promised, before turning back to the dragon-ambassadors-in-training. "That army was led by a man called Adulfr, and Adulfr's problem is that he doesn't know when to quit. He and his followers have been spreading rumours and lies; about me, about the dragons, all to keep people from finding out they can live in peace with dragons, like we do. And these people won't hold back because you're young. They didn't when my friends and I were your age. They will kill you, and your dragons, if given the chance" he warned them, completely serious.

There was a slightly awkward silence…and then Otto asked, "What do we get out of this?"

"The chance to help your tribe, help the dragons, and be part of a greater cause" Hiccup answered promptly.

"Yeah…but what else? I mean, are we gonna get paid for this?"

"Do you guys really need to be paid?"

"YES!" they chorused. Hiccup sighed.

Ashildr challenged, "If this is gonna be as dangerous as you say it will, and we might be risking our lives, then we deserve to get paid."

He couldn't argue with that, so Hiccup assured them, "At the next Althing, Astrid is going to try and convince the chiefs of your tribes to do just that. Although, fair warning, we might end up paying you and your dragons in fish."

Braun spoke up next. "I got a question. If these dragon hunters are so bad, why don't we just kill 'em? We've got dragons, and I dunno about you guys, but my Firestorm would love to find out what roasted hunter tastes like" he grinned. Behind him, his bright orange and scarlet Fire-Scale flamed up and licked his jaws, growling menacingly but with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

*We don't eat humans* Toothless warned, growling. Hiccup explained, "We're not just killing them, Braun, because that only makes things worse. It's like…back in the dragon wars, our elders thought that the only way to win was to destroy all the dragons. They killed hundreds of us, we killed thousands of them, and we never came any closer to winning. Not until Vikings and dragons stopped being enemies and became friends." He smiled at Toothless.

"I thought it ended because you and Toothless killed that big mind-controlling dragon" Brenda protested.

"Okay, that too, but it wouldn't have happened if Toothless and I hadn't looked past our differences. Killing our enemies is necessary sometimes, but it's a short term victory, and if there's another way…the dragon war might be over for us, but it isn't over for the rest of the world. And we'll never change things for the better if we keep doing the same thing over and over."

Margret of the Meathead Tribe inquired, "You can hear it when dragons talk to you with their minds, right? Do we get to do that?" (1)

Oh, now they look eager. Should've known Hiccup thought wryly. He warned them, "I can't give you the gift permanently, I'm sorry. It only lasts a couple of hours at most. But if it comes down to it…yes, I will let you hear thought-speak" he promised.

The riders grinned at each other. That was more like it!

"Any other questions?" Hiccup checked, "No? Right. I've set up some training exercises around the village, so let's get started."


An indeterminate number of days later…

Unbeknownst to anyone on Berk, many leagues away the Tempest weighed anchor on the far shore of Outcast Island early that morning. Nicole grimaced as she leapt out of the rowboat onto land, looking around at the rocky and barren scenery. It was cold and grey, lifeless, and yet she knew there were Vikings stubbornly eking out a survival on the other side of the island.

She had left her best sailors to keep the ship ready to launch as soon as they returned with what they needed. The sooner they found some of these Loki trees and took the black wood, the better. Nicole and all her accompanying huntresses were well armed with blades and blow darts alike, ready to defend themselves against either Vikings or wild dragons, or possibly both.

There were dragons nearby; Nicole glimpsed their colourful scales stark against the dull rocks, before they slunk into shadows or fled into the iron grey sky. That was expected, but she and the others paid the dragons no mind. These were common species, and they had their sights on a greater prize.

Nicole was more worried about encountering the locals. Not that she and her crew couldn't easily overpower a few lumbering Vikings, but she did hope to keep their presence here on the down low. Hopefully they'd be able to retrieve what they needed and depart from this God-forsaken island before anyone needed to know they were there.

After searching for what felt like ages, but was probably only an hour or so at most, they came across a clump of sickly looking black trees, with thick trunks and boughs tapering out to spindly, leafless branches. "These are the ones; Loki trees" Cateline declared confidently. They matched the description she'd been given exactly, only they were even more hideous in person, she thought.

Under Nicole's orders, the men began to cut down one of the trees, dragging it out away from the rest to burn it. However, no sooner had they felled a suitable one and pulled it aside, than a shadow fell over them. Shields were raised and blowpipes loaded as a massive Monstrous Nightmare swept down and landed before them, body wreathed in flames, spreading its – no, her – impressive wingspan and letting out a bellowing roar.

Oh, you beauty. Nicole couldn't help but smile, more of a smirk, at the aggressive display. This must have been the leader of the local dragons – how could she not be, so dominant and imposing? Best of all, she was a Monstrous Nightmare, which meant she had no poison quills to shoot or toxic gas to breathe, and plenty of fire to spare.

"Lower your weapons!" Nicole shouted, even as she drew her own twin blades and clashed them together. The dragon immediately singled her out as the greatest threat, which was just what she wanted. Tensing, ready, Nicole sheathed one sword to snatch up a stone from the ground, and threw it with all her might. It struck the Titan-Wing right on the snout, and the dragon snarled.

Nicole ducked and rolled out of the way as the Monstrous Nightmare breathed a tongue of flame at her. Instead the fire licked at the trunk of the felled tree, setting it ablaze and saving them all a lot of time. "Thanks" Nicole grinned, before giving the order, "Dart her!"

A couple of darts hissed through the air, one striking the Nightmare's neck, the other hitting its flank. The dragon froze mid-shriek, like a statue. "Well done" Nicole nodded, pleased with her crew's obedience and fast action. They had all learned well to do as she said, when she said it.

No sooner had they done so, however, than there was an answering roar from the nearby mountains. Several dragons bore down on them, clearly coming to the aid of their frozen leader. "Dragon attack incoming!" A sentry yelled a warning, "From the northwest!"

"Defensive positions!" Nicole ordered. Everyone rushed to shelter behind nearby boulders and outcroppings; nobody was stupid enough to try and shelter behind the very flammable trees. As soon as the dragons were within range, the darts flew, and soon all of them were frozen in place. With their eyes wide and jaws gaping, the dragons looked as if they were shocked. It was quite amusing.

Once the dragons were taken care of, Nicole signalled her crew to get back to business. The huntresses stood guard, the hunters approached the burning tree. Nearing it, many of them wrinkled their noses in disgust. These trees, when burned, gave off a horrible smell. "Stoke that fire up! Burn the tree down, and as soon as it's cool, gather the ashes. Sentries, get on lookout – this smoke is giving away our position. With any luck the locals will just think one of the dragons set it on fire – I mean, they did – but I'm not taking any chances, is that clear?!"

Her crew scurried to obey. The sentries worked in pairs, the better to catch sight of approaching dangers (be they more dragons or suspicious Vikings). Gelvira found herself partnered with a younger huntress, Clarencia. They stood at the edge of the bluff, keeping an eye on the jagged mountains that lay towards the west, beyond which lay the only settlement on this dismal island.

Clarencia shivered. "Why anyone would live here is beyond me" she muttered, "You'd have to be mad. Don't you think so?" she asked Gelvira.

Not that she disagreed, but Gelvira preferred to keep watch in silence; it was less distracting. "Shh!" she hissed, motioning for the younger woman to keep watching the ground as she watched the sky. Clarencia huffed and resumed her lookout, peering through the spyglass and seeing nothing but dull grey rocks and the occasional colourful flash of dragon scales.

She kept an eye out for them in particular; dragons were more dangerous than humans, even war-like Vikings. Clarencia had never actually met a Viking; she'd thought there were none left, that they'd all converted to Christianity. Then again, she supposed if these Vikings lived this far north, they were probably a bit behind, a bit backwards. Vikings had a reputation for being marauding savages, but she'd rather fight them than the dragons. Less chance of being burned alive.

Speaking of dragons… "Psst. Do you think there really are Night Furies on one of these islands?" Clarencia asked, continuing to keep watch so Gelvira couldn't complain. The other woman didn't answer her. Clarencia rolled her eyes. "I don't believe it" she declared, "Nobody's seen a Night Fury for centuries, I heard. They're probably all extinct. I wish we'd never come to the stupid north" Clarencia complained, shivering again.

"Problem?" a familiar voice asked sweetly, making both of them jump. Nicole had walked up behind them soundlessly, unsettling Gelvira and Clarencia both. She tsk'ed and remarked, "Sentries should be aware of all their surroundings at all times. Or do we need to do have some more training?"

"No, Captain" Gelvira replied immediately, "Sorry, Captain. It won't happen again. Clarencia and I were only…focusing on the most likely dangers." She remembered, when she'd first joined Nicole's crew, the 'training' they all had to go through. It basically entailed spending days and sleepless nights watching out on all sides for booby traps, dragon facsimiles and other crew members firing at them from the shadows. Gelvira had no desire to repeat the experience.

Nicole nodded. "I couldn't help overhearing" she said, faux-innocently, "Clarencia, dear, are you having doubts?"

The other woman stood straighter and saluted. "Not at all, Captain" she lied.

Nicole looked her over, noting the stiffness of her posture disguised as attentiveness, the slightly higher pitch of her voice, the way she didn't meet the captains eyes. Nicole pursed her lips and shook her head in a disappointed way. "I don't like being lied to" she warned Clarencia, taking a small but sharp dagger from her belt and holding it under the other woman's chin. "Do you know what I did to the last person who lied to me?"

Clarencia tried not to flinch. "N-no…ma'am" she said, honestly this time.

"He told me I was his only love…and then I saw him kissing someone else. Put me right off men for a long time, that did" Nicole explained, "so I cut out his tongue. He never lied to me, or anyone again." She moved the dagger so the tip of the blade pressed lightly against Clarencia's firmly closed lips. "You don't want that, do you?"

Gingerly, Clarencia tilted her head backwards, away from the dagger. "No, Captain. Sorry, Captain. I'm just…not sure if there really are Night Furies out here. I, I thought they had all died out" she explained nervously.

"Oh, there are. I'd bet my own tongue on it" Nicole said confidently, "and these might be the very last of their kind. We'll have to take good care of them once we have them, or they won't bring in any gold, and we don't that, now do we?"

"N-no, Captain, not at all" Clarencia nodded quickly. Nicole smirked, satisfied, and walked away. Clarencia waited until she was out of sight and earshot before breathing a sigh of relief.

Gelvira smiled just a bit as she returned to lookout. "This is why you should keep your mouth shut" she murmured to the girl. Clarencia glared at her, and readied her bow once more. Keep an eye on all your surroundings she told herself firmly.


Thankfully, the dragons did not attack them, though Clarencia (and many of the others, she was sure) still got the feeling they were being watched by the beasts. Time passed, and slowly but surely the tree burned to the ground, still giving off that foul stench. All of them had tied cloths over their faces, dampened with water from their skins, to keep out the smoke and the smell.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Cateline asked Nicole as they watched the hunters work, gathering the ash and charcoal of the burning tree in clay jars. "I mean, I don't have a dragon's snout and even I can smell something isn't right. Unless Night Furies smell of burning tar, I don't think this is going to be a very good disguise."

Nicole shrugged. "Have you ever been near a Night Fury?"

Cateline gave her an odd look. "Of course not. None of us have" she pointed out, knowing that her…friend…had never encountered the world's most elusive dragon either. She was the only person – for the time being – whom Nicole would tolerate such insolence from.

"Then how do you know they don't smell of burning tar?" Nicole joked, and then frowned when Cateline just rolled her eyes. "I'm your captain. If I want you to laugh, you laugh."

"I will when you tell decent jokes."

Nicole shot her a glare. "The disguise just needs to draw them in; by the time the Furies are close enough to realise what's wrong, it'll be too late."

At last, the tree burned down completely. They gathered the last of the ashes (they were wearing thick gloves, but they'd still gotten burned) and returned to the ship. Upon returning, Nicole found several dragons either frozen or unconscious and trussed up in nets. "They just came at us out of nowhere, Captain" the sailor she'd left in charge explained,, "We had to take them out or they'd have burned down the ship."

"Well, get them off, and take the nets back" Nicole ordered, snapping "We don't have the room!", when they hesitated to obey. "The empty cages are being kept for our new guests. Now get moving or I'll keelhaul the whole bloody lot of you!" she threatened. That got them hurrying along. Nicole pitched in to get it done quicker, and soon they had the dragons off-loaded – they'd unfreeze after a while – and the Tempest at sea once more.

On board ship, Nicole had them mix the ash they'd gathered with Arabic gum and water, to make a tar-like black paint. The tree had been so large and burned so completely that they filled many jars, and even then Nicole hoped it would be enough. They continued to sail northwest, beyond Outcast Island and towards Berk. Nicole noted the journey of the sun across the sky, and was confident they would reach their destination in time. She planned to lay the trap in the evening, at sundown; after all, these dragons were Night Furies. It only made sense for them to be a nocturnal breed.

"Are you sure about that?" Cateline asked, when Nicole explained her reasoning for setting the trap at that time. "Harald's crew said they captured the dragon in the middle of the day, last time."

"Failed to capture it" Nicole replied tersely. It didn't count, in her opinion, unless you held onto the dragon. "Really, Cateline, think about it. If this dragon had a rider, it probably got used to waking in the day, to follow its new masters schedule. Now that its master is dead, the dragon will undoubtedly return to its…natural rhythms. If it has a mate, then that Fury will be more nocturnal too."

"And what if the Berserker Chief, with his Triple Stryke, isn't there?"

"Then we wait until he is; or, failing that, we lure it out from his island. Wariness or not, we have something the Triple Stryke won't be able to resist" Nicole replied confidently.

Cateline was not so sure. "You're not dealing with typical wild dragons, Nicole. These people are dragon lovers. If we capture the Night Furies, even one of them, the humans are bound to notice and they will come after us."

Nicole rounded on her. "By the time these Vikings realise their precious rare dragons are missing, we will be too far ahead for them to catch up, even on dragon back. The Triple Stryke is not necessary, it would merely be a bonus, we can always track down another. But I will capture at least one Night Fury. We may never get this opportunity again. Now go and check on the cargo."

Cateline's jaw tightened. "Yes, Captain" she ground out, spinning on her heel and striding away. This quest was going to go awry, she could just feel it.


Meanwhile, back on Berk, the Berserker Chief and his Triple Stryke actually were there already. He'd come accompanied by Heather, as per usual; his wife Bersa rarely came, she wasn't one for long flights. Besides, as she put it, somebody had to stay home and keep the rest of their tribe in line. The woman was formidable; she'd once grabbed a boar by its hind legs and thrown it. Dagur, who hadn't been her husband then, instantly proclaimed the 'boar toss' to be the official sport of Berserker Island.

The start of their relationship had been…rocky, to say the least. When Shattermaster was injured too badly to fly, Dagur took to riding Sleuther for convenience. The dragon seemed willing enough, and he figured he'd just go back to riding his Gronckle once Shattermaster was all better. Except that he began to get attached to the Triple Stryke. The dragon was so – so fast, so dangerous, so exciting! And the snap of his tail gave Dagur chills.

Meanwhile, Shattermaster was worming his way into the heart of Bersa, whom Heather had tasked with helping her take care of the Rock-Tail. At first she'd wanted nothing to do with the dragon, she would feed him but nothing more. Shattermaster was too friendly and eager for Bersa to ignore him entirely; it wasn't long before they were close friends. When Shattermaster's wing healed up at last, Dagur couldn't believe his eyes to see his old friend cuddling up to Bersa instead of him, the traitor.

Dagur didn't take his first dragons apparent 'betrayal' too well at all. He laughed in that crazy way of his, wanting to think it was all some big joke, and climbed onto Shattermaster's back. The Rock-Tail bucked him off. Dagur got angry, shouting at Shattermaster about how he was an ungrateful heap of scales who wouldn't be anywhere without Dagur. Bersa, offended on her dragon's behalf – for she had begun thinking of Shattermaster this way – stepped up and slapped him. The look on his face, to everyone who witnessed it, was priceless.

With all the petty viciousness of his crazy youth, and the intoxicating power that came with being the rightful Chief of his island, Dagur planned to make Bersa's life miserable…so Heather had stepped in. She called Dagur a selfish, immature brat; a Chief was supposed to protecthis own, not persecutethem. Furious, Dagur protested that Bersa had taken his dragon from him, that she'd slapped him (Oh, the indignity).

Undeterred, Heather had simply asked him, if he rode Shattermaster again, who would ride Sleuther? The Triple Stryke refused to let anyone else on his back. Faced with the choice between two dragons he cared about, Dagur finally realised that Shattermaster had taken the decision out of his hands, kept him from having to choose between his first dragon and his new one. Humbled, he apologised to Bersa and Shattermaster both.

He still wanted to spend time with his old friend; which meant spending time with Bersa too. She was attractive, as far as Berserker women went, so naturally Dagur attempted to work his charm on her. He'd always considered himself a ladies man, taking and breaking hearts…it was only much later that he realised how much he'd taken advantage of women he met.

Bersa, though, wasn't fooled by his so-called 'irresistible allure'. She rebuffed all his advances, which only made Dagur more determined to seduce her. As time went on, his attempts to woo Bersa turned to just spending time with her, getting to know her, until before they knew it, they were falling in love. They denied it (to everyone else) for ages, but when Bersa came up pregnant around the same time as Astrid, Dagur finally plucked up the courage to propose.

Now his twin children and niece were currently battling it out with wooden swords, the hatchling Night Fury running around in excitable circles and growling playfully at them all. They'd sorted out the treaty that afternoon and come to the training ring, so Dagur, Heather, Astrid and Hiccup could all spar together. The children insisted on playing as well, so they were given toy weapons and told to keep well out of the way.

"Hold still!" Dagur complained as Hiccup dodged around him, and poked his armour with the tip of Inferno. "No fair! That doesn't count."

"Yes, it does! You're just jealous cos I'm winning" Hiccup smirked. He was not and would never be strong enough to simply batter his opponents into submission. He had to be clever, light on his feet and always looking for openings, weaknesses he could exploit. Goading his enemy, in the hopes of getting them to make a mistake, was a risky but all too tempting strategy.

"C'mon, Dagur. Where's your spirit? I thought Berserkers were supposed to be tough" Hiccup laughed as Dagur panted. His 'big brother' glared at him and lunged, yelling a wordless battle cry. Hiccup dodged again. He always dodged, Dagur couldn't get a hit in, it was almost as if…the Berserker glanced over at Toothless, watching the battle from the edge of the ring with sharp reptilian focus. Gotcha, Hiccup.

This time, when he lunged, Dagur stuck his foot out to block Hiccup; so the man caught the blow with his shield instead. Dagur shoved with all his might, trying to unbalance Hiccup and knock him back. Hiccup dug his metal foot in; there were small jagged ridges on the underside that provided a grip; and kept his centre of gravity low. Then he simply rapped Dagur's knuckles with his sword, making him jerk and loosen his grip on the axe, which Hiccup shoved out of his hands. "I win" he grinned.

Dagur looked from him to the axe on the ground, and back to Hiccup. He gave a slightly maniacal laugh and held a hand out to shake. "Yeah, you won – cos you were cheating!" Dagur cried, twisting Hiccup into a headlock and gave him a noogie. Hiccup struggled and cried out, "Toothless!"

A black blur raced over, and knocked both men to the ground. Hiccup rolled out of Dagur's grasp and hauled himself upright, leaving the Berserker Chief pinned under Toothless' paws. "Using your dragon to win is cheating" Dagur repeated with a moan. Toothless warbled playfully and stepped back.

"I prefer to think of it as 'playing to my strengths'" Hiccup smirked, leaning against Toothless' shoulder as Dagur clambered to his feet. "I didn't ask him to help…he just did it. I didn't have the heart to tell him to stop."

"Yeah, well, I do" Astrid countered, as she and Heather walked over from their own sparring session. She looked at the Night-Wing and insisted, "You really need to stop doing that, Toothless. What if Hiccup is fighting someone because he's trying to rescue you? You can't always rely on being there all the time."

Before Toothless could respond, Helena rushed over and ran into Hiccup's legs. "Daddy! I wanna have a honey cake" she declared, tugging at his belt.

Hiccup glanced at Astrid, and noticed her disapproving expression, but completely misinterpreted it. "Now, Helena, what have we told you about asking for things nicely?" he prompted the little girl.

She huffed impatiently and repeated, "I wanna have a honey cake, please."

"That's better. Come on, then, let's go see Mrs Burncrust" he encouraged (2).

Astrid intervened then. "Helena, you can't have a honey cake" she said firmly.

"Why not?" Helena whined.

"We want one too!" Cammie insisted, "don't we, Ozzie?" Her twin brother looked like he wanted to disagree, but one glare from Cammie and he nodded quickly, albeit unenthusiastically.

"Tough. You know you're not allowed to have so many sweet snacks before dinner, young lady" Astrid warned her daughter, before adding "If you're hungry, you can have an apple."

"But I really, really, really, really want a honey cake!" Helena protested, stamping her little foot. Seeing her mother unmoved, she spun around and wailed to her dad instead. "Daddy! Mummy's being mean!" she cried, lower lip trembling pathetically.

Hiccup felt his heart tug at the sight, especially when Ebony crept up and began to pout as well (3). He glanced up at Astrid, who glared at him. "Oh…c'mon, Astrid, one little cake won't hurt her – um, them" he corrected, seeing Cammie pointing at herself and Ozzie. "Can't you let it go just this once?"

"No, I can't, because one of us has to be a responsible parent, Hiccup."

"What – are you saying I'm irresponsible? How am I…?"

"You spoil her! You know you do, and so does she, that's why she went to you first!" Astrid pointed out, exasperated.

"Okay, yeah, maybe I do…that makes me the bad parent?" Hiccup demanded incredulously. "I'm the irresponsible one? That's rich, coming from someone who's thought about which weapon to train our little girl to use."

"When she's older! Hiccup, don't make this about me. Helena shouldn't be snacking before dinner, and not on sweet stuff like that. I know her, it won't be just one cake" Astrid insisted.

"Will too!" Helena cried, stamping her foot again, having a right little strop. Hiccup moved to comfort her, but Astrid stepped in the way.

"Don't, Hiccup. And you, little lady, stop having that tantrum right now!" she scolded Helena, who growled stubbornly. "Don't you growl at me! You're just tired, that's the problem. A nice nap, that's what you need."

"I don't want a nap! I want a honey cake!" Frustrated - because she was tired – Helena resorted to a tactic that had never failed her in the past. There was a reason her nickname was Helena the Howler. She took a deep breath, screwed her eyes shut and screamed.

Astrid grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Stop that right – aah!" She stumbled back, clutching her bleeding arm, staring in shock at Ebony who had just lunged and bit her. Everyone moved at once – Selena leapt forwards to grab Ebony and pull her away, Hiccup scooped up Helena as she burst into actual tears, Dagur and Heather held back their son/nephew and daughter/niece.

Toothless made to lick Astrid's wound, saying *Let me help*, but she shook her head and moved away from him. "I…I need to see Gothi" she murmured, clearly shaken up. Stormfly crouched to let her climb on, and took off without a backwards glance.

The sound of the Spike-Tail's wings startled Hiccup out of his shock. He put Helena down, distractedly told the others to "Watch the kids" and vaulted into the saddle. Toothless didn't need to be told to follow Stormfly.

When they'd gone, Dagur looked over at his sister and remarked, "This is why I'm glad Bersa doesn't come on these trips."


They found Astrid and Stormfly at the bottom of the stilted hut Gothi resided in. "Astrid? How…how's your arm?" Hiccup asked tentatively.

"Fine" she shrugged, holding it up. There was a strip of cloth tied around the wound, a salve on it, going by the green tinge underneath. "It wasn't deep. I've had worse."

Relieved she was okay, Hiccup still felt the need to add, "It…it was an accident. Ebony would never hurt you on purpose."

"I know."

"You just frightened her. She thought you were attacking Helena."

"I know."

"Why'd you do that? I know she shouldn't have been screaming, but you just grabbed her - for a second I was scared you were going to hit her. Astrid, she's just a little girl" –

"I know!" Astrid snapped. Then she groaned and buried her face in her hands. When she didn't look up, Hiccup stepped over and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm a horrible mother" she declared.

"No, you're not" Hiccup shook his head at her.

"I am" Astrid said stubbornly, "I don't know what I'm doing."

"Neither do I! First time parents, learning as we go" Hiccup shrugged, stepping in front of her. "Astrid, you are a great mom to Helena. You're doing fine. It's me who's...look, you're right, I do spoil her. I can't help it. She's…she's my little girl" he said fondly, smiling at the thought.

Astrid couldn't help but smile as well. "Our little sunshine" she nodded; that was why they'd named her 'Helena', it meant 'sun', and she was the light of their lives. Astrid felt so bad for what happened. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm just worried about her. She growled at me, that's not normal; she doesn't spend much time with kids her own age, and the ones she does, Cammie and Ozzie don't live here and Aegir can't speak – I mean that's not the boy's fault but still" – at last Astrid noticed her husband's attention was elsewhere.

"Hiccup, are you even listening to me?!"

"Yeah, sure" he waved her off, distracted by the sight of a purple Titan-Wing Fire-Scale approaching the island. "Is that Liekki? Sorry, Astrid, I uh – we've gotta see what's going on" Hiccup said apologetically, climbing into the saddle. Toothless briefly crooned apology and quickly took off.

"Oh, okay, fine! We'll just talk about this later, then? Urgh!"

Stormfly clucked sympathetically and remarked, *Sorry, Astrid, but I think they'll always be like that.*

"You mean cos they're the Alphas?"

*No*, Stormfly tossed her head, *because they're males.*

Astrid laughed at that, and gratefully pet her friend's muzzle. "Come on, girl. Let's find Helena and Ebony, I – I need to apologise."


(1) The students know Hiccup can hear thought-speak, but not about the heart bind; they think it was granted by the gods because Hiccup is like 'the chosen one' or something.

(2) She lives up to her name. Well, there must be a reason Hiccup suggested they needed another 'bread making Viking', lol ;)

(3) 'Beg' was the first trick Helena taught Ebony, and the two of them have put it to good use ever since.