Summary:
Silverwings has been able to accept the fact that her lover Nighthawk has a close bond with a human. Through ups and downs she eventually is able to fully accept Hiccup. Nighthawk is overjoyed to meet his children. Hiccup extends a formal invitation to her to come visit Berk. She agrees to this and travelling is made possible by a group of dragons and humans that carry her children in a basket. Being very moved by Nighthawk's love and all that has passed, Silverwings finally speaks her wish that they mate for life.

Eventually they reach Berk, being welcomed by a swarm of dragons. After a brief meeting with Hiccup's family they go to their house, that is not in the village, but some distance into the woods, much to Silverwing's delight. Early next morning it happens that both Fireweed and Kari, Hiccup's youngest daughter, leave their safe homes to go look for the other. It becomes clear why: they are drawn to each other so much, it must be bonding.
After a few hours of sleep Silverwings is woken up by a bunch of dragons who crashed in for breakfast, not completely to her delight. Next she takes the opportunity to scan the island for the first time, together with Toothless and Hiccup. That proves a major disappointment, the island is too small for her taste and worse: Toothless explains that her main staple food, deer, are off limits. Upset by all this, and by the previous night, she almost decides to return to the Mainland.

Once home again they are summoned by the wise woman of the tribe, Gunna as she feels her end is near. They speak with her on her death bed, and she gives them her blessing. Little Pinecone seems to get a special assignment. Valla, while escorting Silverwings out of the village speaks of the Arena: "Did you hear that there will be a great welcome for you? It will be held in the Arena. That's the place where we have all of our outdoor festivals."
The Arena. Now what did that remind me of? Something nagged at the back of my head, but I dismissed it, as I watched my children getting ever more playful with Valla.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Chapter 12. The Arena

The ring of doom
We stood halfway down the ramp leading into the pit of the Arena: Nighthawk, Hiccup, Kjell, and I. I figured out soon enough that this was the death ring where Toothless once had been humiliated and imprisoned. The place where for centuries the humans had honed their skills in killing us dragons off. We had walked down to this place after we left the children in the care of Meatlug. Once we were done here we'd return to them and Hiccup would bring his children to play with ours, something Fireweed eagerly anticipated.

Hiccup thought it was a good idea to introduce me to the place where the festivities would be held the next day.
"The Arena has been training grounds for a long time now, Silverwings" Hiccup told me. "For a while it was called 'the Dragon Academy' but nowadays it is simply referred to as 'the Arena'. But by now you will have realised that this originally was the place to learn how to kill dragons. I am sorry about that, Silverwings."

I nodded. Introducing me to this place had seemed like a good idea, but to actually be here threw me off balance far more than I expected. Somewhat shaky I followed the others down to the centre of the pit.
"Much has changed here" Nighthawk said. "The gate has gone and so has the iron web closing the pit from above." He spoke too fast, obviously nervous about how the whole thing would go down with me. I looked up, imagining seeing the sky but having no means of escape. It made me shudder. The eerie feeling I had grew. I looked around at the forbidding walls. Appalled I noticed that the pit had been hewn out of living rock. I could blast rock, but only with great effort, so I astounded at the amount of work it must have taken to create this place. Sickening, that so much ingenuity went into perfecting its shape, its prisons inside. This perfection, with the sole purpose of killing dragons, made it all the more gruesome.

This death ring was dominance, carved into stone. The very proof of the capacity and willpower of humans to slaughter us. I realised once more that humans will be the end of us. Not the humans from Berk, but other humans in the end will dominate us and do to us whatever they like. Another shudder went through me. Oh, my children…

I looked up at the rim above. A few people that had followed us, stood there, looking down on us. Imagining how humans once looked down on the 'spectacle' that took place, I croaked "So they cheered from up there, when dragons were tortured and killed? No dragon came out alive, you told me. And you lay here too, all chained up." Unease and aggression built and I demanded "Where did you lie?"
"Here, at this spot, but –".
BAM - a ball of fire blasted the spot.
Nighthawk looked baffled at my smoking maw as I urged once more "And which one was your prison? Tell me!"
"That one. But Silverwings, don't-"
I burst out, firing shot after shot into that ghastly prison, wanting to bombard that place into oblivion. But however many shots I fired, nothing more happened than that the ceiling cracked with a loud bang and something inside burst into flame.

Those walls are too strong, even for my fire. I failed to make this prison budge, even having used nearly all of my fire power. My head reeled, I had shot way too fast. Dimly I noticed all humans on the rim had disappeared. Feeling ever more queasy I tried to focus on the walls again, but they danced before my eyes. Now that my aggression faded, fear surfaced. Fear and disgust. With a mounting feeling of nausea I spun around, the grim walls zooming past my eyes.

No escape. Only death… death… death…

Panic struck. My legs buckled under me. Fading voices pierced the ringing noise in my ears: "Silverwings!"
"We have to get her out of here…"

*Darkness. Suddenly lightning cracked, briefly lighting up the cave. Thunder boomed, the sound rolling on for a long time. Near to panic we huddled together, my brothers and I. Curling in on ourselves we keened our misery, silenced in fright at every new flash of lightning. Where was mammy? Always when there was a thunderstorm, we had crept against mammy's big, warm body. And then she put a wing over us and told us stories. But she had not returned from the hunt. It took her so long. She had never been away this long. Mammy? Where are you, mammy? I started sobbing. Mammy? Mammy?
Then a warm tongue washed my face. Instantly I felt such relief. Now we were safe. Safe at last. Mammy...*

I cracked my eyes open. It wasn't that dark. In fact it wasn't dark at all. I opened my eyes some more. The licking stopped. I felt disoriented.
"You passed out, darling." -Nighthawk's voice.
Now I realised it had been he who licked me. I looked up at his face.
"You blew up the place with force, and then you staggered and fell down. This place seems to have triggered your worst nightmare. I fear it was about the day your mother disappeared, because of what you moaned in the delirium."
"Mammy" I whispered with a sob. My body shook uncontrollably.

Nighthawk crept close against me and placed his head on top of mine. I sobbed some more but his heavy body, half covering mine, became a loving presence to focus on. As was the steady beating of his heart and his even breathing in-and-out, in-and-out, steadying me, clearing my head.
I whispered "I wish I could have been by your side like this, when you were so utterly forsaken."
He softly said "It's over, darling. It's long over." After another couple of breaths he added "Let me tell you this: when you walk into this ring tomorrow, together with me, it will feel as if you bless the place with all the happiness you gave me. It will chase away any remaining shadows."
It made me sigh. "Then I will. I understand now." I said.

I looked at the doors that I blasted. Half molten they hung down, charred. The stone ceiling had cracked. Smoke curled up from within.
"What have I done… first thing I do on this island is to wreck things. What will the humans think of me. If only they do not hold it against you."
"Well" he said, and a bit of amusement crept into his voice, "they sure will feel what you did. Inside my former prison is the storage of the sitting-benches. As you reduced them to ashes, the humans will have to stand on their feet the whole time tomorrow. The benches will be sorely missed."

Paying my respects
"Come, Silverwings, I want to show you something" Hiccup said. Kjell had brought a bucket of water, and I just finished to lap it up. After that, we left the arena and walked the fringes of the village. Walking, the simple physical act of walking, calmed me down further. I did an unusual amount of walking these days, not wanting to fly where Nighthawk could only use his feet. Soon we reached the ramps leading down to the Docks. We went halfway down and stopped there, looking out over a stretch of ocean up to the tiny islands some distance away.

"I stood here, Silverwings, when my father sailed away with Toothless as his captive" Hiccup said quietly. "I felt like dying." After a moment he continued "I also stood here when the ship with my mother's body had floated away far enough for my father to set it aflame with a burning arrow."

I sensed the silent grief that he did not show openly. Looking at the dull surface of the water, I understood it hid more dead than just Hiccup's mother. I also understood Hiccup's point: so many deaths on the account of us dragons, leaving behind disrupted families and little infants like Hiccup.
So there lie the bones of your mother, Hiccup. There, beneath the waves. And you were so young, then. Too young.
Just moments before I had a recollection of losing my mother at a tender age. So in all the confusion and hurt of this day I felt for Hiccup and bumped my head against his chest. To lose your mother like that, not by accident, but by a hateful act of my kind… I am sorry, Hiccup, so very sorry.

As if Hiccup felt what I tried to get across, he leaned in to the touch.
"What is it with you, Silverwings" he muttered "you were not in this war, how come you are affected this deeply? It's as if you are living it now-" and he stroked my ears with his hands. That was a nice feeling. Never had I been this intimate with a human, not even with Hiccup, but it did not feel wrong. Hiccup then carefully broke the contact "-but thank you, Lady, for your sympathy."

Suddenly realisation hit me that she had been Stoick's mate! Then I must tell him too! Tell him how sorry I am about the loss of his mate.
Acting on impulse, I took wing. I knew where to find Stoick, as together with several of his people he had gone through some huge doors near the top of a hill. So I flew there and landed on the stairs that lead to the closed doors.
"Stoick! Stoick!" I barked, calling him to me. When it seemed he didn't hear me I advanced a bit and called again, but the doors stayed shut. After waiting some more, I decided to call him as loud as I could as are after all they a loud people. So I roared "STOICK! COME TO ME. I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO YOU!"

Now something happened: the doors flew open and Stoick jumped out along with several of his people. I hesitated, aware of their stance, of the look in their eyes. Wh…? What?… Why do you look at me like that?
For a moment I was too astonished, but then I saw metal things in their hands. Weapons.
I flicked my wings to make them stop, but that evoked no reaction. So, growling, I ducked, assuming a fighting stance myself. Instantly my fire built. No human treats me like this.
Their faces hardened, and then I truly saw the faces of… enemies.
Turn away, flee! You don't know this, I told myself. Yet aggression and a strange fascination kept me rooted to the spot while my fire nearly boiled over.

At that moment shouts from below reached my ears: the voices of Nighthawk and Hiccup! They had come running after me. "STOP, SILVERWINGS!" "FATHER, STOP. PLEASE."
Nighthawk reached me, and Hiccup jumped off his back. "Father, stop! She came… she just wants to…" he panted.
Nighthawk sprang in front of me, wings opened wide. I spat the fire, that had been too ready, to the side.
"Father" I heard Hiccup shout "together with Silverwings we looked out over the harbour. We wanted to show her where our war victims had gone. She seemed much affected by it. Then she… she suddenly took off. To see you, father. I think that she came to you, to express her sympathy."
"Sympathy? Are you sure, son?" Stoick asked. "We heard her roar loudly. I was told she blasted the Arena. We think she has come for revenge."

Revenge? No. Confused, I sank on my haunches. "What have I done, Nighthawk?" I stammered, looking up at his face. "I just wanted to… but I got aggressive so… so quickly."
"Oh, Silverwings, you've been-"
"stupid… I… The look in their eyes, Nighthawk… the aggression… their faces… were enemy faces. And then I got aggressive too." I was beside myself.
"Everyone in the village must have heard you roar in the Arena, and blast my prison. They must have thought you sought revenge. You really need to try to not react on impulse anymore, as long as you don't understand the humans, or the sensitivities here."

"I've been so stupid. Oh, Nighthawk, please forgive me. I don't know how to behave among humans, and now they will be mad at me and throw me out. They will be mad at you too, for bringing an aggressive female to Berk. What if they throw you out too?"

But before Nighthawk could say anything to that, Hiccup came to stand before me. "Silverwings" he said softly. The way he said it broke the spell. Hiccup at least was not mad at me. Thank you Hiccup. I stood up and nudged the side of his head.
"Come, Silverwings, go over to my father and tell him what you came to tell him." Still ashamed, with my head hanging low, I walked up the stairs. Nighthawk walked beside me. There were the feet of Stoick. I shot his face a quick glance, then hung my head again and stepped away from Nighthawk. I did wrong, not he.

"Silverwings" Stoick said with a stern voice "my son tells me that you didn't come here for revenge. Do you seek revenge?"
I shook my head.
"You came here to tell me something."
I nodded. Then Hiccup told all that had happened.
"Is it like my son says, Lady?" Stoick asked. Again I nodded, still not daring to raise my eyes. A murmur went through the crowd. Then all went silent, eager to hear his reaction.

"Thank you" Stoick said.

Thank you… he said thank you. I was still taking that in when I heard Stoick move. Suddenly my head was taken in a firm grip, and lifted up. I gasped, as his hands held me tight. But surprisingly, along with my head, my heart lifted up. Astonished and gladdened I looked Stoick in the eye. The enemy-look had gone. Instead, pain was visible in the set of his mouth. An old wound, torn open by me. Instantly my heart went out to this scarred, elderly man. Scarred, we're all scarred. I closed my eyes and pressed the top of my head firmly against his chest. Hard as rock it was, but beneath I felt the rapid beat of his heart. His hands went around my jaws once more, clumsier now. Then he let go and stepped back.
I opened my eyes and looked up at him.

"Welcome, Silverwings. You are welcome among us."

The Arena – a place of pride and joy
So, today we gathered again to the Arena, standing just outside at the top of the ramp leading down. The contrast to the gloom and painful recollections of yesterday couldn't be greater. Today there was an atmosphere of merry anticipation, while the rim above the pit filled with a noisily chattering crowd, a mixture of humans and dragons, finding themselves a suitable spot.

Even the weather contributed to the festive mood. Interrupted at times by big fluffy clouds sailing rapidly past a clear blue sky, sunlight splashed down, brightening up everything and especially the fluttering pieces of cloth attached to many long poles. The images depicted on the colourful cloth had me intrigued. They were like dragons, but strangely altered; sometimes depicted together with humans, which also don't look like real humans. The same strange thing goes on with their houses which have protrusions that look like dragon heads. But I shook myself free of these thoughts. Soon I would have ample time to ask about these things and contemplate the doings of the humans.

The children were very excited and were shooting back-and-forth from under my wing to under their father's, while casting quick glances at the activity close by. But at any loud noise, or any large dragon looming near, they pressed themselves firmly against my side. This morning we prepared them for the things about to happen: that we would be welcomed in the Arena, that everyone would get to see us and be very LOUD, and that afterwards there would be a party.

Hiccup, Astrid and their children had accompanied us to the Arena, little Kari happily hopping along next to Fireweed. And Stormfly walked with us too of course, busily chattering and trotting along quite proudly. In the village, Aina, together with her Nadder Sunrise, joined us and so did ever more humans and dragons of the travelling group, so eventually we arrived at the Arena with a rather large group of followers in tow.

I felt good, excited even. Silently I watched Nighthawk who had a chat with some of the "Hero-Five". I relished in seeing his stance, the way he carried his head and wings. This male, that had been at such a disadvantage when we met last year, and who had remained somewhat of an outsider all those years on Berk, now brimmed with confidence and happiness. Yes, my love, this is your finest hour.

It was indeed. Nighthawk positively beamed when Stoick invited us to enter the Arena and we both walked down the ramp, the children hidden beneath our wings. An excited murmur went through the crowd when we entered the Arena. I remembered Nighthawk's words. "When you walk with me into this ring tomorrow, it will chase away any remaining shadows." You were right, I thought happily, when I saw how he carried himself.

Stoick's speech
Standing in the middle of the pit, we looked up at the gathering of dragons and humans. There was Stoick, standing on an elevated platform together with Hinnan, the soon-to-be wise woman of the tribe. Stoick spread out his arms in a commanding gesture and addressed the crowd.

"Welcome, everyone! Well, I get to show my face in public once again."

Some chuckles and comments.

"Now, if somebody told me we'd hold a welcome party for a dragon, well, I would have tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear they were going mad! And you know it! Hahahah."

Cheers and comments erupted all around.

"But here we are. My son and the search party have safely returned. And no one is more surprised than me that they managed to haul in a Night Fury dragoness plus five wee dragonets. Today, we celebrate Toothless returned with his mate!
Today, we celebrate Toothless has become a father!"

Vast cheer.

"Yesterday we experienced a revival of the ol' days, as a certain dragoness thoroughly wrecked the place, heh heh heh. So we did a hasty repair, but mind the crack over there. She sure makes her presence known, especially to our feet, as she torched the sitting benches.
Let's say I hope you can handle your lady, Toothless. She and the wee ones will keep you busy. Your quiet bachelor days are over, I fear!"

Raucous laughter echoed around the rocks.

"That wild beauty made me realise how far we have come with the dragons. And it isn't a bad thing to realise once more it started with my son and Toothless. Let's give them a hand of applause!"

Once more the humans made their hands come together in that specific sharp noise that is called 'clapping'.

"A special note to the young and daring! That is: all youngsters here, heh heh heh. If you don't want to get fried, be careful with this dragoness. Do not startle her, do not approach her or especially her dragonets for that matter. She has been a loner dragoness, used to dealing with any situation swiftly –and mostly deadly I presume. So take care.

One last thing. I say that our Hero Dragon must have had luck written in the stars, because once more he did the impossible: as a cripple win over a dragoness, and a feisty one at that, the lucky bastard! He even convinced her to join him on this windy island!
So here we welcome Toothless' mate, the beauty of the taiga and the proud mother of five: LADY SILVERWINGS!"

Thunderous cheer.

It made me feel welcome so much that my wings spread wide as a "thank you". The children now also cheered and chirped. I took a look at them and said: "Isn't this nice?" They beamed and chattered back to me, but didn't leave the safety of the wings as yet.

The noise died down when Stoick once more raised his hand. "My people, as you have heard, we're combining the occasion of welcoming Silverwings with Finnar's performance of his long expected Song. So, let's hear Finnar" he said, transferring the attention to the bard with a broad gesture.

Finnar and the yearlings
Finnar stepped forward. He put his harp in front of him and addressed the crowd.
"People of Berk. Dear friends." he began. "Many of you know why I came to your island from my faraway home, you know, the lowlands bordering the mouth of the river Rhine. I just had to witness the miracle of humans living in harmony with dragons. They are not around where I live. Many of my people cannot believe it is true and dismiss it as another sailor's tale. But I wanted to see for myself, with the aim to put it into Song. That's why you took this Hollander in, and today I will repay your hospitality. To be able to piece this Song together, I talked with many of you. The last bit of inspiration I needed came on the mission to find Toothless' dragoness. Back in the Taiga I already did a rehearsal, but after a final polish, I will sing it for you today."

The crowd murmured in anticipation. Several people encouraged him the Viking-way: "Stop talking, start singing!" "It's about time, you did!" "We fed you long enough."

Unfazed, Finnar continued "But first I will play you something special. I'll make it short so please bear with me. It's a little piece of dragon song, from no other than one of Toothless' dragonets! His children stole my heart, especially one. She actually sings to me! I have tried to catch her song in play as it is strange and wonderful, like dragons are strange and wonderful to me. Here is 'Pinecone's Song'.

He stroked the harp and looked our way. "Won't you come out, little ones? I am going to play the harp. Will you come to me, so the people can see you?" Five little heads appeared from under our wings, but shot back as a loud "oohhh" went through the crowd. Finnar smiled a little knowing smile and started to play. He was right of course, as my yearlings emerged shyly. They hesitantly pattered to him, eying the crowd, but eying the harp more. I looked up at the humans and, saw their rapture. A delighted murmur went through the crowd. Then I looked at Nighthawk and saw how proud he was.

Then the music caught my attention too. Soon I wondered at this music as it was much like the singing of Pinecone, yet strangely altered. This is what humans do, I thought. They alter things. Everything they touch somehow changes. It never stays the same. Nevertheless, the music of the harp was sweet and innocent. It seemed to slowly fill up the death pit we stood in, as if with clear water. My eyes focussed on the walls again, those unyielding walls that had witnessed endless suffering and slaughter, but unlike yesterday it had become bearable to look at them.
I silently praised Hiccup's wisdom. What if he hadn't introduced me to this place yesterday… I watched him and shot him a grateful look the moment he looked back. As if he understood, a little smile crept on his face. The soft, melodious music continued and somehow it seemed to wash off some of the invisible filth of death. That is what humans do too, I pondered. They seem to sometimes find a solution, acquire resolve, in the strangest ways. That's something that doesn't come to us dragons naturally.

When the music ended, Finnar did a strange thing: he put a finger over his lips while looking up at the crowd. The humans took some clue from it, as they did not cheer loudly, nor clap their hands. Instead they laughed, a very nice sound that fell down like rain.
"Will you not greet the people of Berk?" I heard Nighthawk encourage the children. And sure enough they flapped their wings, having lost their nervousness. But Hiccup had a better idea. He signalled Kjell, who held out his hands to Pinecone. She readily hopped in and Kjell lifted her up and held her high. Hiccup shouted: "Here we have Pinecone, our fine little singer". Now the crowd couldn't hold back anymore and burst out in cheer. Pinecone however felt visibly safe in Kjell's big hands and flapped her wings again. Our other children were introduced the same way: "Boulder!" "Heather!" "Tumble!" "Fireweed!". After that the little ones returned to us.

Of Vikings and Dragons. The Song of Berk
Again Finnar addressed the crowd in a carrying voice. "My friends. The time has come for the Song. It was agreed that for this special occasion the Hero Dragons would be gathered once more. Even Meatlug, for this once. We all know how much she struggled with the past. But she is not the only one, that much I learned during my stay." Turning to the ramp he continued "I would like to invite the other Heroes to join us."

And down filed the dragons, Hookfang, the magnificent Firehide, accompanied by Snotlout; Stormfly, the Deadly Nadder; BelchBarf the Zippleback with the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and finally, looking despondent, Meatlug the Gronckle with Fishlegs patting her side reassuringly. They joined Nighthawk, Hiccup and Astrid and settled on a spot opposite of Finnar.
Kjell in the meantime took me and the children over to one side, while Stoick junior, Valla, Sunnar, Kurt and Kari went over to the other.

"Behold the Heroes of Berk, the ones that set you free, man and dragon alike" Finnar shouted, and threw his fist in the air. The crowd raised its voice in one raw shout.

A silence fell but he air was charged. Tension rose as the humans realised that some parts of the Song would carry grave content. People murmured, shuffling their feet.

Finnar struck a chord and shouted:

'Of Vikings and Dragons -The Song of Berk'

In those days, long ago
we set foot on this island
And looked up to the heavens
Fearing they'd fall upon us
the daring Daughters of Wind
the searing Sons of Fire.

For ages we ferociously fought
Steeling ourselves, wielding
weapons against tooth and claw.
Doing raw battle, unyielding
To never-ceasing assaults.

Year in and year out
A long, twilight struggle
Against the enemies of man.
Light the beacons! The foe
has come upon us once again!
… … …

On and on he went, vividly describing a dragon attack on the village. Unlike the first time I heard this Song, I now was able to listen to the tale unfolding. And even though I had already heard much about the War, the Song struck me with the raw images it evoked. Amid the turmoil of the attack, the Song concentrated on Hiccup, on the timid youngling he had been. In only a few lines Finnar nailed his loneliness, his insignificance.

Hiccup stood listening motionless, his shoulders sagging. The pain in his face was mirrored by Nighthawk, though the two did not look at each other.
Then was Sung how Hiccup had spared the black beast's life, and how he had befriended the incapacitated dragon. Obviously, it was told in more detail than ever before, as many a gasp or exclamation escaped the listening crowd. Especially the part where they both fell from the sky had never been heard before, as the people shouted out in disbelief and horror. Learning to get the artificial fin right and ride the dragon hadn't been as easy as was always assumed.

The part of them falling from the sky also did not escape the little ears of my children. "Mammy! Father fell! He fell from the sky!" they cried upset. I tried to calm them down but then it was thought better to lead them away so they could play. The music didn't enchant them as completely as it once did, so they understood too much now. In the light of this, we had taken precautions, so just outside the ring Aina stood ready, together with Sunrise. Kjell and I brought the little ones to them. As soon as they were engrossed in playing with a little ball of tightly wound leather rope, I returned to my place in the Arena. Luckily I had missed the parts where Nighthawk had been captured and humiliated, and where he had been misused on the ship.
When Finnar Sang of the Battle with the Red Death, the people froze, their faces turning pale and grim. Again many names were Sung; this time of the humans that had perished on those bleak shores during that Battle.

As the Song unfolded I watched my mate. It was clear that he, like Hiccup, relived the events, invoked by the compelling Song of Finnar and the mesmerising sounds of his harp that thundered and thrilled, whispered and wept.
I saw his horror when he disappeared beneath the waves; him quieting down when surrendering to death; the shock when Stoick had appeared to free him!
I saw the grim resolve when he took Hiccup into the thick of the clouds. I saw him cringe and shudder when once more they fell from the sky, this time without a timely salvation.

Like Hiccup and Nighthawk, the crowd also reacted vividly to the story. They sighed, shouted and murmured. Faces lit up, fell, paled and flushed in turn with the content of the Song. People froze, eyes glittering in faces as hard as stone. Hands covered mouths in shock; hung limply down; were balled into fists. Voices drifted into silence like the ashes that rained down.

Then Finnar's voice, barely above a whisper, Sang of Toothless, bruised and bleeding, holding Hiccup encased in his wings. Those listening seemed to be holding their breath until Finnar's voice rose: Hiccup was alive! All exhaled, and cheered as one. Even I felt the joy of that moment and I saw how it affected Hiccup by the reddening of his face.

The dragons also snorted, shuffled and flicked their wings, as they went along with the story, the Song bridging the gap between them and the humans. When Finnar Sang about their enslavement and rescue, they started Singing themselves. Finnar silenced but continued to play the harp, while the dragons named their Fallen and lamented their passage.
Once the dragon's lament ended, the music picked up a merrier tune and Finnar Sang of Toothless working with other dragons between watching over a sleeping Hiccup. Stormfly, Hookfang and the others soon joined him, moving around in the village and pairing new dragons with hopeful Vikings.
I could feel the way everyone was moved, remembering those first days of adjusting to living together.

Finnar finished his Song recounting the day when Hiccup once more flew with Toothless. It seemed the Vikings' hearts soared along by the thunderous noise they made. It didn't upset me, knowing it was an expression of what Nighthawk and Hiccup meant to their village.

Celebrations
After the Song ended, and all the clapping and yelling faded to a murmur, I glanced back up the stone entrance and saw the faces of my younglings. They no doubt heard the commotion and had come closer to see what was going on. I very much wished to join them and wondered if there was a way for me to leave the ring without offending anyone. Nighthawk saw my plight and nudged Hiccup. He understood at once and went quickly over to have a word with his father. Stoick, after a few moments of looking to the eager faces of my children, raised his arms and all noise fell away.
"I can see, and hear, how much you liked our Finnar's Song. However, you know that many of us can not fit in the Arena. Heh, there's barely enough room for a Gronckle to spread their wings! On this glorious day in Berk why not move everything and everyone up to the meadow where we can all have more room" then, turning to me, he more softly said "and let momma dragons be themselves."
It was then I knew he had been watching for my feelings. When we walked up the ramp, I held my head as high up as Nighthawk did.

All of the company now filed to the meadow that lies beneath the Great Hall and the houses of Stoick and Hiccup. On arrival Nighthawk explained to me the new things I saw. Already present were many barrels, some filled with water, but also ones filled with mead, a special liquid. "Some people will need a stiff drink, Silverwings, as Finnar's Song cut deep" Nighthawk said, looking at some people whose faces were still white and drawn. But there was also much cheer and quickly the glade filled with tables, chairs and a pile of the food called 'bread'. People chattered loudly and time and again burst out in song.

Both human and dragon younglings joyfully dashed through the crowd playing the game of 'bread'. Nighthawk explained the idea was that one team tries to get a bread to one end of the meadow, running with it tucked under an arm, or flinging it to another when being blocked. The other team tries to do exactly the opposite, tackling whoever carries the bread. The stronger dragon's younglings were in no advantage, as the difficult part for them was to keep the bread in one piece and beat the temptation to gobble it down in the first place. Whichever team managed to touch down the bread between two poles won and, besides earning the glory, got to eat it.

Because the festival had been quite sudden, the fishing groups still had to go out and catch the daily amount of fish. While they were gone, the wonderful scent of bloody meat wafted into my nostrils. I learned that was the meat of the fluffy animals, called sheep. Luckily, the humans soon started to char it over fires, as is their custom, so the temptation to taste some was quickly gone.

The afternoon was filled with many humans and dragons coming to greet us. In the end so many had filed past us, it all became a blur. Nighthawk filled me in here and there about the goings-on, as I barely understood. Many a dragoness paraded her younglings to meet ours, something tremendously interesting to my little bunch. The youngsters immediately sniffed each other out and my children would have followed them to go play if we wouldn't have held them back. But soon the spot next to us turned into a playing ground for the young.
Several mothers told me that they often would go to the meadow next to this one with their children, so they could play together under supervision. My children heard of course and asked me "Can we go there too, mammy, please? Pleeease?
"Well" I said amused "it seems the matter is settled already. That means 'yes', my little ones". They quickly turned around to the last dragoness in line and told her delighted "Mammy says we can come too! We come too!" Facing me again they said "Can we go there now, mammy?" As usual, 'tomorrow' was impossible to explain.

Eventually, Nighthawk saw me struggle, coping with so many impressions. He nudged me and said "Come with me, darling" with a twinkle in his eye. "I know the perfect spot for us!" We left the children once more with Meatlug and her three hatchlings and sneaked off to behind Hiccup's house. Once there, we swiftly climbed up the roof and crawled to the edge to peek down on the activity below. Nighthawk made himself really comfortable and I followed suit. Having settled, we chuckled like two naughty yearlings. Once more I realized that Nighthawk will always be there to help me cope. I looked at his grin and gave him a heartfelt lick.

oOoOoOoOo

Yaay! Mission accomplished. Toothless has a mate and children on Berk!

Please write me a review.

There will still be an Epilogue, but mostly, this is it.

Thanks folks, for all the reviews, support and all the fun contact. This way the whole experience of writing has been deeply satisfying.

I thank again Tagesh, my editor, who this time wrote a paragraph or two.

Is this how Dreamworks came to their movie, I wonder, Finnar's Song descending through the ages and somehow landing on their desks?
One never knows, but the world is full of wonders…