Illusion

by Sandfire Kat

When Hiccup thought it was all over, Night Furies start to attack Berk in revenge for what he and Toothless had both done to them. It is up to Hiccup and Toothless once more to save Berk before it is too late. Before all of Berk is destroyed. A strange ally is found, and Hiccup realizes that with her help, they could solve everything. But the thought might just come too late.

48. Chapter 48

A/N: Poof!

A wild Sandfire Kat appears! :O

Sandfire Kat uses 'Summer Homework Procrastination!'

IT'S ((unfortunately)) SUPPER EFFECTIVE!

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The Night Furies were gathered in a large group, all milling about and waiting patiently in the main cavern of the cave. The glow from the moon slanted through the large opening, lighting up the puddles that littered the ground, and casting an eerie glow on the stalactites that clung tightly to the roof. Though packed to the brim, the cavern had gone silent as the tense aura hanging over the crowd slowly intensified. Eyes that gleamed in the darkness turned to train themselves on the group standing at the head of the room. The group of dragons and humans that had come to the Night Furies were now taking their place on a large ledge up above, peering down at the cluster of reptiles as they hovered in plain sight. Standing up higher than any other, and in plain sight of all that were below, it was obvious that they were planning to speak.

Hiccup stood beside Astrid, neck craned awkwardly to the side to make space for Ludi, who had draped herself low across his shoulder. The cat looked quite anxious to be so high up, looking down owlishly at the people below as she let out a nervous trill. Hiccup patted the cat comfortingly, praying to Thor that she wouldn't suddenly flip out and cause him to slip right off the slippery platform. It wasn't that big, in its own right, and squeezing a bunch of other people on it at the same time, he had to focus to stay upright without wobbling. And his fake leg wasn't helping much, either.

He turned, perking as he caught sight of Astrid. The girl's face was creased with concentration as she bit her lower lip, gasping every so often as she had to regain her footing. Her eyes were rounded out with a small hint of fright, and against his better judgment, Hiccup let out a small laugh. At once he got the reaction he should have guessed for as Astrid whirled around to glare hotly in his direction. Deciding that if he was going to be hated, he might as well make things official, he had the nerve to keep going. "You're afraid of heights?" He snickered, biting back his laughter as his shoulders shook up and down. "Seriously?"

Astrid soured at once, eyes narrowing at once as she jabbed an accusing finger into his stomach. The blow nearly knocked Hiccup right off of the perch, had he not caught himself at the last moment. "I am not afraid of heights." She said firmly, voice barbed with anger and irritation as her glare burned holes into Hiccup's clothes. Blinking a few times, the girl turned swiftly away from him, pointing her nose up high into the air as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I am afraid of falling down and stabbing myself on those pointy rock things down below."

"They're called stalagmites." Hiccup said blandly.

Astrid once again jabbed him in the stomach, a silent warning of murder shining in the depths of her blue eyes. "You're pushing it." She said sharply, nose wrinkling in the way that it always did when she got angry. Hiccup raised both his hands up in surrender, mouth setting into a surprised line as he realized that she was a little bit more than serious. Ludi chirped with fright where she was slung over the boy's shoulder, clapping her paws rapidly on Hiccup's chest as she squealed.

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, when it was cut off abruptly as his attention went elsewhere. Catching his surprised look, Astrid snatched her hand back to herself, turning around and blinking rapidly. Mistyeyes had stepped forward along with Toothless and Nightflight. Standing in the center of the two, the gray dragon let out a sharp roar to call attention, looking confident and sure of herself as she leaned over the edge of the ledge they were all perched on. She showed no fear in her perch, and Hiccup had to admit that he felt a small flash of pride at the way the three seemed to be getting along. They were much tighter now, it seemed.

The dragons below stilled at the call of attention, heads turning up to look curiously at the trio. Narrowing his eyes, Hiccup roved through the crowd below them, searching for the form of Frost. Sure enough, he landed on the dragon after a few moment of searching, smirking as he felt a small flash of satisfaction. The dragon was wincing and grimacing as he settled down to sit awkwardly on the stone, trying not to aggravate his injuries he'd gotten after facing Hiccup and Nightflight. Sure, the two of them hadn't left the fight unscathed themselves, but Frost would obviously be limping for a very long time, it seemed. And the fact did not cross Hiccup's mind without a small smile worming it way forward.

Astrid caught the expression, rolling her eyes as she gave a small laugh. Leaning over, the blonde grabbed Hiccup's hand tightly in her own, intertwining their fingers without a word. Hiccup turned back to look at her, searching her gaze with his own before saying anything. "Two more obstacles." He whispered, hoping that his voice wouldn't travel too far over the waiting dragons. "First we have to make sure they're with us." He jerked his head to the side to indicate the Night Furies. In the process, he hit his head against Ludi, who let out a sharp snap as she once again hit him with her paws. But he paid no heed to the whining feline. "…And then we gotta go back to Berk." He finished rather lamely.

Astrid let out a gusty sigh. "I wonder which one will be harder." She commented dryly.

"Oh, I dunno." Hiccup hissed. "I think the choices make it pretty obvious."

"Dragons and dragonesses!" Mistyeyes declared, cutting through the pair's conversation and causing them to go silent. "We've traveled here from Berk to address a growing problem in both of our societies: the lack of order and power.'" She paused a moment as the Night Furies grumbled back and forth among one another. She raised her tail for silence, but it was a moment before they calmed down enough for her to be heard. "Back on Berk, the Villagers are being reduced to their old ways of killing dragons as they go after Night Furies, who they believe are the evil ones."

"So why should we go there if they want our heads?" A dragon yowled, leaping to his feet in defiance.

Mistyeyes let out a sharp hiss, silencing his angered tone as he clamped his jaws shut bad-temperedly. Taking a short breath to calm herself, Mistyeyes answered his question with as much care as she could manage. "Berk believes you all are to blame for the Raids that you committed against them." She paused a moment, choosing her words carefully as she glanced over in Nightflight's direction. "They blame you, when all you did was follow the words of your leader."

The dragons looked over at Nightflight, a few mumbles rippling through the gathered crowd as they gazed up at her. Hiccup stiffened at once, ready to stick up for Nightflight as he took a small step forward. But then he realized with a pang of surprise that the tone of the dragons below was not that of anger anymore. The words were sharp and barbed, but not dragon made a move to outright accuse her of anything she had done or attempted to do in the past. Instead, they sat quietly, looking at her curiously, as if unsure what to think about her anymore.

The thought made an excited smile spread over Hiccup's face. "It worked!" He whispered close to Astrid's ear. The girl started at his voice, turning and looking at him with confusion. He poked her shoulder, causing the girl to flare with annoyance. "Nightflight's plan worked!" He pressed. "She won in the fight and showed that she actually did turn over a new leaf! The other dragons don't know what to think of her now. They can't be angry and they can't be happy."

"That's better?" Astrid asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "I think I'd rather have people not know what to think of me than have them wanting me dead, wouldn't you?"

Astrid smirked. "I think you get too much of both of those situations."

Hiccup stared at her fixedly for a few moments before slowly turning away from her. "I'm done talking to you." He mumbled.

The blonde smiled, rolling on her feet as she turned back to the crowd. "Good." She gushed.

"Unfortunately, Berk isn't aware of that fact." Mistyeyes went on, flashing the pair a sharp look that obviously said: 'You'd-better-shut-up-or-I'll-come-over-there.' "So we've come here with a proposition for you all. And that offer is for you all to come back to Berk with us and see for yourselves the way that the island works and functions alongside humans." She turned, nodding over to Nightflight and Hiccup. "These two showed you only a sample of what you all could become if you were to join forces with the humans. They've shown you how you could become stronger and better in time, and that no matter what happens, you'll always have someone at your side to help you along."

"But if the humans want to kill us, what's the point of going?" Leafdapple asked softly.

Shadowclaw's ears flicked down to his head in disappointment at the dragoness.

"You'll have to make an effort towards it." Mistyeyes instructed, narrowing her eyes as she recognized the familiar face. "When you go hunting and spot something that could feed the entire Pack for a week, do you just sit there and wait for it jump into your claws? You have to walk carefully, and work towards the goal in order to make sure that you acquire your better future." Hiccup twitched, silently thinking that comparing 'hunting' to 'joining Berk' might not be such a good idea. But the metaphor seemed to have some sort of influence on the listeners as Hiccup caught a few nods or excited looks aimed their way.

"It won't be easy." This time it was Toothless who spoke. He got to his feet, going over and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Mistyeyes, green eyes flashing as he looked down to the others. He was much bigger and taller in comparison to the dragoness, making Mistyeyes seem almost small in his presence. "It'll take a lot of work and maybe a little bit of pressure to make sure that the humans understand that what happened was just a fluke that never should have taken place. But isn't a little bit of work worth it in the end?"

"What about the children?" A dragoness said sharply. "I'm certainly not taking my younglings out somewhere where they could be caught and killed!"

"Yeah!" Another called out. "We could be killed doing this!"

"I'm not putting anyone I love in danger!"

"You won't be!" Nightflight screeched, powerful voice ringing out over the dragons and silencing them at once. All eyes went to her, and yet for once she didn't shrink underneath the weight. Instead, she tilted her chin upwards with authority that she had held, once upon a time. "No dragons will be harmed during this, we can promise you." Toothless and Mistyeyes swung around to look at her with surprise, eyes widening slightly. They couldn't promise anything like that.

But Nightflight was far from finished. Digging her claws into the rock beneath her, she swept on in her spiel. "Look at yourselves." She ordered, the crowd turning and staring curiously back and forth from one another. "You aren't the way you used to be. You aren't powerful and you aren't capable of what you used to be able to do." She hesitated a moment, ducking her head with a flash of guilt. "I suppose that it's my fault you're like this now."

She shook herself, forcing herself to go in instead. "And I take full responsibility." She corrected, backtracking. "Which is why I'm here trying to get you all to go to Berk. I've witnessed what goes on on that island, and…I have to say…it's better than anything you could imagine. It's everything that this place is lacking." Nightflight swept her blind gaze through the milling Night Furies critically. "We've survived without humans for years upon years." She said firmly. "And for a while, we were fine. But look at it all now: you don't know when someone had left because you're so unorganized, you're tromping around the forests at random times scare away the prey, and your biases leave you resentful and bitter towards each and every dragon you come into contact with! Sure, I'll be the first to admit, we did survive without humans fantastically for a long time. But that…that was just luck! And your luck is running out! You're losing food, capability, and overall character when you're here!

"The dragons at Berk are the opposite of you all! They have friends, a life, family, and food to last them ages! They hold bonds with humans that any of you would be lucky to even fathom! They're safe and protected within the ocean that surrounds Berk, and they would be willing to put their lives on the line for the good of everyone else that lives with them. It might be risky to join Berk, and it might be dangerous to go out there and take a stand. But it pays off in the end! There is always a storm to get through in order to reach the light on the other side! It just depends how much you want this future for your children, and even your children's children! We can weather the storm together, if you all band together and brace yourselves for it."

Complete and utter silence met her words, startled looks slapped over the crowd below as they stared open-mouthed at the Night Fury. Toothless looked like he had just been slapped, eyes wide as he looked at Nightflight oddly. Mistyeyes's eyes were soft, though, and a small smile played on the edges of her mouth as she turned back towards the edge of the cliff. "We speak the truth." She said softly, not having to raise her voice to be heard in the quietness of the cavern. "It is up to you whether or not you listen to our words. But if you're willing to change along with the humans, I feel as if we could learn much from them. And they could learn much from us."

"…We've gone so long without the humans." A voice said, tone quiet.

"It'll be a big change. And a hard one." Mistyeyes urged. "But like we said, it'll be worth it in the end. Nightflight made her own drastic change, and she was the one against humans in the first place." Nightflight blinked, ducking her head and letting a saddened frown cloud over her face. "You looked up to her when she was preaching against humans, can you not see how much she's changed now? If anything, you should listen to her more now, just because she did undergo such a huge shift." The dragon hesitated, trying to find words to go off of. "Like I said, it is a big change. …If you have questions, we can answer them for you, easily."

Hiccup blinked, looking out over the crowd expectantly. He expected there to be silence; after all, most dragons here didn't seem to want to stand out, now that he thought back to it. But surprisingly, Fleetfoot stood up, the boy recognizing him as his old wounds throbbed underneath his tunic. But the dragon only looked confused, not scornful or rude. "How are we supposed to show the humans that we've changed?" He demanded, turning so that his gaze was fixed on Nightflight, who was slowly becoming more and more upset, it seemed. "It's not like we can talk them through all of what happened."

The question was obviously meant for Nightflight as he stared at her fixedly. But Mistyeyes brightened, knowing the answer and sweeping into her speech before Nightflight could even realize that the words were for her in the first place. "You may have noticed that Hiccup can understand dragons." She said, turning and flashing a smile in his direction. Hiccup felt a wave of heat as the dragons turned to look at him, becoming excited at this as they started to whisper about his performance in the fight that had been almost an hour ago. Hiccup smiled nervously at their stares, becoming warm as he shifted from foot to foot on the slippery surface of the ledge. Ludi shrank underneath the weight of the looks, swelling up and trying to look bigger than she actually was.

"You mean the female doesn't?" Fleetfoot asked flatly, looking critically at Astrid. "What's she doing here, then?"

Astrid stiffened as the dragon look at her.

Mistyeyes only flicked her ear dismissively. "This girl is a resident of Berk. She'd come with us here because she held trust in us. Hiccup had explained to her in detail what had happened between the Night Furies and Berk, and she was so moved by it that she decided she would come out and help us in any way she could." She broke off for a moment, glancing at the pair of them gratefully. "Hiccup is going to do as much as it takes to spread the word about how Night Furies are changing their ways, and Astrid will help by showing people that what he says is true, and that she was swayed for a reason. With the two of them helping us, there's no way that we could even hold a doubt of not having the humans forgive us. But- of course, we'd have to forgive them as well."

"But they've killed off members of our ranks!" Talon objected.

Toothless saved Mistyeyes the heartache in replying. "How many humans have you all killed?"

The others became quiet once more at this, ducking their heads at the question and refusing to reply. Mistyeyes spoke up once more, bracingly by now. "The humans won against you all during the last Raid, isn't that right? It's because they're stronger than you all." The dragons bristled at this, but Mistyeyes only grew more assertive in her words. "Don't deny the fact, because it's there. A bunch of humans won over you all, and there's a good reason for that. It's because they are in fact stronger, much as you would hate to admit it. You can either embrace the fact and try to add yourself into the ranks…or you can ignore them and eventually be overcome anyway." She flicked her tail. "Your choice."

Nightflight's shoulders hunched suddenly, the dragoness getting to her feet and turning swiftly. Bunching her muscles tightly, the dragon sprang off from the perch, landing on the cave ground rather neatly as she hurried away. Hiccup turned and watched with a concerned look as she disappeared into one of the branching tunnels, disappearing from sight at once. He opened his mouth to say something, but Toothless beat him to it. The Night Fury weaved around Mistyeyes and Shadowclaw to lean down beside the human's ear. "I'll go after her." He hissed, not giving Hiccup a moment to object as he followed the dragon off of the ledge.

Hitting the ground running, Toothless chose the tunnel that Nightflight had vanished into, footsteps gradually fading away as he chased after her. Astrid watched the exchange with a narrowed look, the girl turning over to look at Hiccup in confusion. "What was with that?" She asked softly, crossing her arms over her chest as she let a hint of worry come over her. "You don't think that Nightflight is regretting the choice of being with us?" She asked suddenly. "Not after all she's done so far…right?" She looked over to Hiccup, who was still staring after the two dragons, as if waiting for them to come right back.

"…I don't know." Hiccup rasped, suddenly looking immensely worried.

Everything had seemed so laid out. Nightflight had shown herself a member of Berk now, even if she wasn't officially accepted. At all. But her words seemed to cast a huge influence across those of the other dragons, and accompanied with Mistyeyes's explanations, it looked as if the Night Furies were seriously considering a future alongside humans. The evidence was displayed, as well as the truth of the matter what with the fight that Hiccup and Nightflight had gone through. The boy was just getting ready to start leaping for joy. After all, they'd managed to sway the dragon this much without too much trouble.

But was Nightflight's words all a lie? What was she doing now?

Standing emptily on the ledge beside Astrid, Hiccup suddenly felt himself grow numb as he pictured his entire plan slowly falling apart at the seams.

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Toothless's breath came in puffs as he rushed after Nightflight, green eyes searching the darkness of the cave around him as he searched for her black form. Though he'd grown up in this place, the network of tunnels and passageways were enough to send him reeling. He was more than sure that he would probably get lost coming in here, and that would certainly be embarrassing. Maybe he should have put more thought into this before charging into a tunnel that lead to who-knows-where after a dragon that was doing who-knows-what. But…

He'd forgotten his reason for doing it in the first place.

Maybe it was because Nightflight looked so upset when she'd left. And she'd gone so abruptly, he had no idea what could be on her mind. He'd rushed after her too quickly, though, and that left him running through tunnel after tunnel, trying to remember where he'd been but ultimately forgetting it ten seconds later. He had no idea how confused a living space could get, but the farther he went, the more lost he started to feel. He was so used to having big open spaces on Berk to run around in, and the constricting walls of the cave were starting to get him on-edge. There was a nervous twitch running up and down his scales, and he couldn't deny the sick feeling he got when the walls started to press in on his shoulders.

But gradually, the walls started to get wider once more, allowing him space to breathe and room to actually stand and walk instead of pushing his weight forward painfully. It was hard to imagine himself living in a place like this after experiencing Berk, which was a good thing in its own right. After all: maybe the other Night Furies would follow the example he showed. Maybe in the near future, they too would forget the network of their tunnels, only knowing the forests and lush grass of Berk instead. He had to admit, it was an improvement from this place. Which it could look breathtaking at times, most of the time it just seemed…too big. Too spacious and way too cold for life to kindle itself inside its freezing clutches.

Movement caught his eye up ahead, and he straightened suddenly, turning around and veering towards the form. The room that he had found himself inside was particularly appealing, or as close as this place got, he thought bitterly. There was a round hole in the cave roof, letting in the moonshine and letting it stream down into a large pool on the ground. The white light cast long shadows down to the cave, framing the stalactites and stalagmites in a pretty glow. Droplets of water that dripped down to the ground sparkled like little stars, the moon lighting their way as they dripped into the ground with a soft plop of impact. The sight was enough to actually put the rest of the cave in a better light.

Nightflight sat in the middle of the moonlight puddle, ears close to her head as she stared unseeingly at the ground. Toothless slowed as he got closer, not wanting to startle her by his sudden appearance. But the female's ears perked at the sound of his footsteps, shoulders hunching over even more as she closed her eyes. "Toothless?" She asked, voice riddled with thick sadness.

Struck by the amount of anguish in her voice, Toothless cleared his throat. "Yeah." He said softly, voice echoing in the large space of the cave and bouncing off its stone walls. Hesitating for a moment, the dragon turned over and sat down beside her, narrowing his eyes and looking up towards the moon. The night was cloudless, a million little dots of white surrounding the large sphere of the moon as stars clustered themselves together, straining to see into the little hole towards the cave. Tearing his gaze away from the night sky, Toothless leaned forward, looking at Nightflight with concern. "Are you alright?" He asked, starting with the obvious.

Nightflight twitched her tail, answering his questions without words. Instead, she raised her snout into the air, blinded eyes straining suddenly, as if she were trying to see through the blackness crowding her vision. "…does it look as pretty as I remember?" She asked, voice choked as she ducked her head once more in defeat. She screwed her eyes shut tightly, tail curling with disappointment as she couldn't seem to see through her shroud. Toothless blinked, ears flattening to his head sadly as a pang of pity shook him to the core.

"It's very pretty." He managed.

"I thought so." Nightflight whispered, giving a small nod.

The two fell into an uncomfortable silence, and Nightflight gave a regretful sigh. "I miss it."

Toothless perked, tilting his head to the side. "Seeing?" He asked.

"No." Nightflight choked. She turned over to him, looking strained. "I miss the old days." She managed. "Before any of this ever happened. Before…before I went and ruined everything." Toothless blinked, the statement surprising him as he grew quiet. "I miss the times when we didn't have to force ourselves to be with one another." She blew out a shaky huff of air. "I doubt you remember them though." She closed her eyes, grimacing deeply as she spat out: "I bet you try to forget as much as you can when it comes to me."

Toothless looked at her with wide eyes, feeling somewhat numb as he stared brokenly at her. For a moment, he was swept away from his body, flashing back to the times that Nightflight spoke of. The sunny days where he would wake up and immediately charge over to Nightflight's nest, leaning over her anxiously and prodding her with a claw. 'Wake up, fluff-brain!' He would cheer, Nightflight's shining green orbs snapping open to clash with his own. A delighted expression would overcome the female's face as she shot to her feet, and he would always feel that certain amount of excitement that he always did around her. 'We've got important adventures to do today! You can't be asleep all morning!'

The stars always seemed to shine brighter back then. The world seemed a bit bigger. And his shoulders weren't so strained with worry. They had both been so carefree in those times; their only worry was when they couldn't play together, and how long they'd have to go without one another's company. When had things gotten so messed up? When had everything shattered into little fragments, much too small for someone to pick up and piece back together? Had it been something he had done? Or something she did? Or was just something that couldn't be avoided?

"…I still remember." He whispered softly, voice muted.

"But it doesn't make a difference, does it?" Nightflight asked, not looking at him. "It can never be the same, can it?"

Against his better judgment, Toothless shook his head. "No. I guess not." He said.

Nightflight hesitated before asking her next question. She turned towards him, clouded eyes rounded out with grief and sadness. "And it'll never work either, will it?" She managed in a high whisper. "…Us?"

Toothless froze at the notion, looking at Nightflight with wide eyes. Her own words echoed back in his head, an unending mantra that repeated itself over and over in his mind: 'I love you, Toothless. I always have.' He'd repeated the statement to her back then, returning the affections for her right outside this very cave. He'd seen the way her eyes had sparkled to life at the agreement, or the way she seemed to float a million feet above the clouds afterwards. He'd give anything to see her that way again, and he knew that he could…if he just said that words back to her. But…that had been a different dragon back then who'd returned the affections. It hadn't really been him.

Did he love her, too?

Taking in a slow breath, Toothless closed his eyes, picturing all of the time he'd shared with Nightflight. The long afternoons spent talking and laughing together back in the caves, the way that they started talking together even now. He listed all the things he knew about her: the way she puffed up when she got angry, the way she often stubbornly refused any means of help, the way that she tackled her blindness head-on and sacrificed herself anyway, her quick-thing and, albeit rare, charm. He pictured her joyous smile that could sometimes find its way over her face, her voice turning into a sound closely resembling a tone close to bells whenever she was laughing, her shimmering blue eyes…

Toothless snapped to attention at once, twisting himself out of the thoughts at once as he looked over at Nightflight. She didn't have blue eyes, Mistyeyes had blue eyes. Nightflight's eyes were green. And yet…Toothless found himself unconsciously slipping back into his thoughts as he looked bleakly at the female in front of him. He was torn, it look like. The shining question that he had been avoiding for so long was now sitting right in front of his feet, waiting to be answered:

Mistyeyes…or Nightflight?

Nightflight had known him from birth. She knew every little thing about Toothless, and he knew most things about her. They could a lifetime reminiscing about the old days they had together, and they could get lost in their memories of sun-baked days and moonlit nights. They shared a past so strong and long that it was almost daunting…and yet they had a tragic one as well. Amid the happy smiles and trilling laughter, there was a dark and scarred area. This is the dragon that turned him against Hiccup, and this is the dragon that nearly wiped out Berk. Throughout their memories, there were scars there as well. Deep, penetrating gashes that left ugly blemishes across the sunny smiles and games they once played.

Mistyeyes was another story. She was still a mystery to him, the female sometimes going out of her way to surprise the dragon, it seemed. He knew much less about her than he did Nightflight, and the two of them certainly had their shares of long ((pointless)) arguments. Mistyeyes had gone against her father and the whole of her Pack, who had once called her a Leader, to be the first dragon to make a change. From the start, she was set and ready to do anything in order to save not just herself, but the whole of the Night Furies. She had witnessed the magic of Berk and immediately wished to prove herself to its legacy. She'd seen Hiccup, and she immediately grew a hard edge towards protecting him. She was quick to think of others, and she even held an air of power that most dragons in Berk actually paid attention to.

She was strong and confident, ready and willing to do anything and everything to help a cause that sometimes wasn't even her own. She was everything that Toothless often wished himself to be, and he oftentimes found himself looking towards her. She had a quick brain and fast-paced thoughts; she could twist herself out of any knot, and yet she had humility at the same time. Though a mystery to him, she was another kind of mystery: one that he wanted to sit down with and figure out. He'd watched her go from subdued, powerful, sorrowful, distracted, happy, overjoyed, beaming, and excited. The two of them had seen through this situation most of the time side-by-side, now that he thought of it. They'd witnessed loss, success, tragedy, and happiness together.

And somehow, when he tried to force himself to think of Nightflight, her shimmering blue eyes always burned through his mind.

"…I…" Toothless searched for words, green eyes round as he struggled inwardly.

"It's Mistyeyes, isn't it?" Nightflight sighed.

"…I think so." Toothless murmured, eyes softening as he looked down at the ground. He repeated his words, much more sure of himself by now. "Yeah. I'm sure of it."

"I understand." She said simply, voice breaking as she got to her feet.

"I'm sorry." Toothless managed, pushing himself up again as he maneuvered to stand in front of her. "You were my friend once, and seeing you so…." He trailed off, heart breaking. "…I realize now that I don't want you to be upset. I can't help you with what you're thinking right now, and I don't think I ever will be…but I don't want you to be upset." He hesitated a moment before bushing forward, unfurling his wing and placing it gently on the female's back. "…if you'll let me, I think I'd like to try being friends again. Maybe we can't have anything too serious…but we can have the old days back."

"Can we?" Nightflight asked hollowly.

"Maybe not the same as when we were younglings." Toothless amended. "But I've seen the way you've changed. And I take back what I've said before. You've shown that you really do care about our cause…and that you're willing to prove yourself even farther by returning to Berk. I do trust you, Nightflight. And I hope that you can trust me even if I don't feel the same way about you."

Nightflight sighed softly. "I can't blame you." She whispered. "Mistyeyes is lucky."

Toothless became quiet at this. Silence filled the cavern, and he leaned forward, trying to decipher the female's expression. Her face resembled someone who's chest had just been ripped open, and feeling his gaze boring into her, she looked away. "Are you okay?" Toothless pressed, knowing that he wouldn't be helping the situation at all by talking more. The female winced at his concerned tone, letting out a small sigh as she turned her back to him.

"I just want to be alone." She said simply. "It's why I came here in the first place."

"Being alone doesn't help things." Toothless tried weakly.

"Apparently neither does being with others." She choked out.

Grimacing, and realizing that he couldn't help at all right now, Toothless dipped his head. "Okay, Nightflight, I'll leave you alone." He said softly, turning around and starting back the way he'd come. "Hiccup'll be worried." He said, pausing as he looked over his shoulder. "…Come back soon, alright?" Nightflight didn't reply to him, closing her eyes tightly and pretending as if the words hadn't reached her ears. Giving another regretful sigh, Toothless looked at her carefully for a moment, trying to remember what this broken, blinded dragon used to be. But he came up with nothing.

"I'm sorry." He said.

And once again, she ignored him.

Turning around, Toothless retraced his steps, feeling as though he was being ripped apart with each step he took. He knew that he had made the right choice in choosing Mistyeyes, that much was for certain. But he had no idea of what the consequences would be from this one predicament. Big or little, the blow of his decision left himself feeling as if he were disconnected with the rest of his body, his head swimming more and more as he slipped through tunnel after confusing tunnel.

And no matter how many times he assured himself that he did the right thing, he couldn't help but feel as if he had left half of his heart back in the starlit tunnel, and that he most certainly would never get it back.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: I can say it, but you won't believe me.

You say you do, but you don't deceive me.

It's hard to know they're out there; it's hard to know that you still care.

I can say it but you won't believe me.

You say you do, but you don't deceive me.

Dead hearts are everywhere…dead hearts are everywhere…

Dead Hearts - Stars

IMPORTANT: Since I don't have school over Summer, there is no limit on my updates. I can update twice a week, three times a week, whatever works. I just update whenever I feel like I've gained enough reviews for the last chapter. So I basically just go off reviews during Summer, there's no real pattern to it like I try to keep up during school.

FINALLY WE SOLVE THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION!

Mistyeyes would like to thank the Academy ;3

Nightflight would like to KILL the Academy.

I've found myself liking Nightflight more and more the more I write her, she's probably my favorite person in this story. But it just wouldn't make sense for them two to end up together, even I have to admit that. And I like Mistyeyes: she's interesting, and she's still got a few shades in her persona that I haven't even touched at yet.

Which is why I'm still thinking of doing a separate story after this going into more detail about their past XDDD What do you all think? Leave a review being specific, but I also have a NEW poll to go and vote on, if you please :D