A/N: I'm not really happy with how this chapter ended up, but I'm not sure how I might edit it/write it better. And since this is just fanfic and I'm doing it for fun, I decided I didn't want to think about it too hard. This is actually the longest chapter of this story so far, I think.

I need to warn you, this chapter is heavy on the magic/fate/destiny side of things – but really, Toothless turned into a freaking human how else am I supposed to deal with something like that? But I figure, if you guys can like a movie like Brave, you can sit through this chapter.

Enjoy!

It was still dark outside when Hiccup shut the door softly behind them, pre-dawn light just beginning to filter across the sky. It was chilly out, the air thick with fog and a lingering stillness from the night. Hiccup rubbed his hands over his arms in an attempt to warm up. Toothless mimicked the action, and made a mental note that it worked similarly to how he flapped his wings to keep his blood flowing in cold weather.

Their boots (and Hiccup's metal foot) Made holes in the layer of dew on the grass, and they swished an odd, three-booted set of wet tracks down the bridge to the arena. Between the still morning and the importance of the messenger, both Viking and dragon remained quiet, except for the steady tapping of Hiccup's prosthetic on the path.

When they turned the corner, Hiccup could see the dragon still some twenty yards away, and he couldn't help it when his jaw dropped. It was massive, and unlike any dragon he'd ever seen before. Long and snakelike, with sloping ridges on its head that became horns, and an uneven fringe along its back that almost looked soft. It was noble-looking, the embodiment of regality itself. Hiccup was struck dumb to think of where it came from and what, exactly, it was.

"Heofenas bufan," Toothless breathed beside him, "When Stormfly told me a messenger had come, she did not mention he'd flown around the world to get here."

Hiccup thought for a moment about asking what he meant by that, but he was too busy looking at the dragon, who'd lifted its head as they approached.

It's scales were red. They were duller in shade all down the body, but near the spine and especially around the face, they melted into a fiery, beautiful shade that would make a monstrous nightmare look boring. Its underbelly was a light, muted golden hue that shimmered just as much as its red scales. It had a long, rectangular snout and a strong jaw, and whisker-like protrusions on either side of its nose, which appeared to be the same soft-ish looking flesh as that on the spine. It had wings, Hiccup was sure, but despite their length, they were folded up impossibly thin against its body so that Hiccup had to really look to see them. Its scales were like nothing Hiccup had seen on the dragons at Berk. Hiccup was used to dragons having leathery hides with thick, pebbly scales like lizards. But this dragon's scales were glossy, rounded, and perfect, layered like shingles that moved smoothly over each other. The dragon shimmered like a fish as he moved, and Hiccup thought of his father's fishscale armor.

Like a cat, the dragon drew his long frame up off the ground, to sit and bring its tail to wrap around itself. The end of his tail, Hiccup noticed, was adorned with a large, fan-like spread of the soft fringe from his spine and face.

The two humans, one Viking and one dragon, stopped at a respectful distance. Still overawed as he was, Hiccup didn't feel surprised at all when Toothless bowed low at the waist.

"You have travelled very far, my friend," He said in Dragonese. The dragon's whiskers twitched and something like a smile pulled at his scaly lips.

"I must say, I would never have expected to hear my own tongue from the mouth of a human." It's Dragonese was accented with a foreign, lyrical diction. If anything, it actually made him easier for Hiccup to understand. "The Kindelline carried your story far, Master Night Fury."

"Please," Toothless bowed again, slighter this time, "My name is Tóðléas."

"Very well, Master Tóðléas," the dragon nodded. He looked over to Hiccup. "And I suppose this is the young Æðelin," He said, looking at Hiccup with a wizened eye.

"Gicpa," Hiccup corrected automatically. The dragon let out a small puff of smoke in pleasant surprise, eyes alight.

"And they were not lying when they called you Dragontongue," He said. "It is a pure honor to meet you both, Master Tóðléas, Young Gicpa." He bowed his head gracefully. "I have gone by many names in many tongues, but you both may simply call me Ru."

Toothless and Hiccup both bowed in acknowledgement. "We are both grateful for your coming, Ru," Toothless said, and he really meant it. Ru only nodded, and Hiccup mustered his courage to ask,

"If I may, Ru…" He shook off the intense stare that he was getting, probably because of the Dragonese, "Toothless seems to know, but I do not – where do you come from, that you have travelled so far?"

Ru laughed, but not mockingly. "Your people do not yet have maps big or wide enough to find where I come from, young master. It is far, far to the east, across lands you have never seen or heard of, beyond deserts and seas. Civilizations, human and dragon alike, that you have never known. It is another world. But," He added in a sparkling tone, "I think you will find it is separated from yours only by distance, and the will to cross it."

Ru did not know it then, nor did Toothless, nor even Hiccup, but just then, something sparked to life in Hiccup's chest. It was a slow-burning ember that would start a bonfire, a late-blooming bud that would become the biggest rose of the bunch. It was the start of something that would guide Hiccup's heart in years to come, although it would take him years to figure out what, exactly, it was. It was called wanderlust. Hiccup's mind had just been introduced to the idea of a world far, far, far bigger than he'd ever dreamed, and suddenly, he knew he would go there, one day, and see it for himself.

But this was the present, on Berk, and Ru had travelled across that world untold in order to speak to them.

"The Kindelline sent you," Toothless spoke up, "because you know something concerning my… condition, I hope."

"Indeed I do," Ru said, straightening. "However, to start the conversation, for both of your benefits, I would like to speak with Tóðléas alone." He nodded at Toothless, and sent a kind eye to Hiccup.

Toothless turned an apologetic look back to his friend. Hiccup couldn't hide his disappointment, but he kept his head held high and nodded. "Of course," He said, in Norse because he forgot. He turned and went down the path until he was out of earshot. He cast a last look at the dragons before he pulled out his sketchbook and began to draw absently.

"Why send Hiccup away?" Toothless asked. Ru rose gracefully onto all four legs and began slowly strolling along the grassy paths behind the arena.

"Walk with me, and I will tell you." Toothless fell into step with the other dragon, staying near his head.

"Is it because you thought he would not understand what you said?" Toothless asked, feelings lightly offended.

"Not at all," Ru said kindly, "But the matters behind your transformation deal with powers far deeper than language and happenstance. Your young human friend is intelligent, I can see. He has already mastered Dragonese, his dragons call him 'Prince', and his eyes are bright and keen. I did not ask him to leave because he would not understand. If anything, it is because he would understand."

Toothless frowned. "How do you mean?"

Ru found a comfortable spot under a tree and curled up once more. Toothless sat on a mossy boulder. For the moment, Ru chose to ignore Toothless' question. "Your friend, Ealdcwén, undoubtedly told you that there are legends, old stories about dragons who became humans, and humans becoming dragons."

"She mentioned it," Toothless said. Ru nodded.

"She remembers them because I told her those very stories many, many winters ago, when she was still a young dragonling and I a young adventurer. I travelled the world often, then, carrying messages to and fro. When I told her those tales, I never thought it would bring me to this conversation with you."

"You were a story-teller?" Toothless asked, inquisitive.

"Yes, but not exactly how you might think. You see, when I told Ealdcwén those stories long ago, one thing I did not tell her, nor anyone else who ever heard my stories, is that they are not just legends. They are, in fact, the truth."

"You mean the Old Stories are true?" Toothless' eyebrows shot up.

"The stories you've heard all your life? The legends? No. Not all of them. But if legends are not rooted in truth, how would we have them at all? Not all of them are true, but some of them are. Unfortunately, the ones that are true have been buried by those that are not."

Toothless's mind was sent for a spin with this new information. He had to shake his head to rid clear the thoughts of nesting-time stories and tall tales from his uncle."But… you mean, I am not the first dragon to be like this? To have turned into a human?"

"No," Ru said. "Only the first to have done so in a long, long time. It is because it has been so long that most dragons discount such a phenomenon as something of myth. But it is not myth. Only a rarer form of the deeper magic inherent to our kind."

"…Magic." Toothless deadpanned. Ru smiled at him.

"Surely you've heard it said that dragons are magical creatures, tied to this world by something deeper than wings and claws."

"Heard it, yes. Believed it…" His tonefinished his sentence for him.

"And yet, here you are." Ru glanced Toothless up and down, human body and all. Toothless put on a chagrined face and looked away.

"So, magic," He said. "Exactly what kind of magic?"

Ru settled down, lowering himself so that his head was more even with Toothless'. "You must understand, Tóðléas, perhaps better than even I do, how closely the worlds of dragons and humans are linked. In one way or another."

Toothless thought of the war, and of Hiccup. "In one way or another," He repeated. Ru dipped his head.

"Yes. It is curious that, even if we try, neither humans nor dragons can quite separate themselves from the other. Have you ever wondered why?"

Toothless blinked, because no, he hadn't. He remembered that, in the home of his youth, there had been a human settlement not too far from where he grew up. They'd never bothered the dragons. Of course they knew each other, and occasionally squabbled over hunting grounds. They'd never really been together in any way, but never apart, either. Toothless realized he'd never even thought about what it might be like to live without humans. Apart from them, yes, but not without them. He frowned.

"We can live separate lives, of course, as we often do. But humans and dragons stand together on this earth as two sentient, cultured races. Different, but so very similar that we cannot help but be drawn towards each other. The magic I am referring to finds itself deep within this link." Ru explained, watching Toothless' face carefully. The fury continued to frown, but did not say anything, so Ru continued, "Humans and dragons do not need each other to survive, not really. But for as long as our races have existed, the balance and harmony between humans and dragons has waxed and waned like the tides, shaping the course of our respective histories. And in some ways, subtle or overt as they may appear, this ebb and flow is guided by magic."

Toothless gave his new friend a supremely skeptical look. He wanted to protest that magic didn't exist, that of course it didn't, why would it? But then he felt the moss beneath his human hands, and the scratch of human clothes against what should have been dragon legs, and he sighed to himself, because reality was forcing his mind open. Ru was still talking.

"Historically, in times of great change, of great need, of great importance, this magic awakens from wherever it sleeps and works with history's most vital components, and touches lives such as yours with a power than cannot be ignored." Ru allowed himself to look pointedly at Toothless, who still felt hyper-aware of his human condition. "The behwearft," he said.

"'The exchange'," Toothless translated.

"Between human and dragon, yes. It has occurred a handful of times before. This is where the stories come from, of dragons living as humans, of humans speaking in our tongue. Of shapeshifters and half-bloods, with a foot in both worlds."

"But… why?" Toothless had to ask. Ru tilted his head, considering.

"It depends. The last instance of the behwearft occurred many hundreds of years ago. On an island even farther west than Berk, to the south. A small clan of humans were granted the ability to speak in the dragontongue. The human-dragon civilization there remains strong, and important in the region. Over one thousand years ago, in my homeland, a human king, who hunted dragons, was he himself transformed into a dragon for a time. When he became human again, he was wiser for his experience, and brought harmony between our races. The human kings in my homeland have ever since been called the Dragonborn. Even farther back, one of the very first behwearftas to have ever occurred, a dragon spent nearly a decade in human form, cultivating relationships with the human tribes around her for the betterment of dragons and humans. They are few and far between, the behwearftas, but they never happen without reason. Each behwearft has touched history in some way, be it drastic or long-lasting."

Toothless' mind was reeling. "So… so what does this mean?" He gestured to himself. "I didn't do anything, I just… woke up like this. I haven't touched history nearly enough to earn some spot with this… this magic of yours. I'm just a stupid night fury who left the nest too early and got extremely lucky afterwards."

Ru actually laughed. "You are either very humble, or very blind, Tóðléas. You are the dragon that ended a centuries-long war between dragons and humans. I have already told young Gicpa that the world is a far bigger place than either of you know – what I did not say, is that your Berk is unique among it. Across the world, humans and dragons war on, with only small pockets of neutrality to break the tension. Harmony, dragons and humans living together, is unheard of. Until you came along, you and your one-legged friend."

"I only wanted the terror to end," Toothless said, speaking of the Queen.

"And yet you have sparked a fire that could very well spread across the world. Dragons and humans, together. You and Gicpa are a strong bond, Tóðléas, and I think the deep magic must have chosen you for that very reason. Now that you are human, now that Gicpa understands you, now that you speak and learn and show with each other worlds you never knew before, not only is your bond stronger, it makes you more dangerous, a weapon of history. And who knows what will come from the both of you?"

Toothless wasn't sure he liked the sound of all this. He was adventurous, yes, reckless, yes, but the magnanimity and scope of what Ru suggested made him feel very small, and very frightened.

"You need not fear, friend," Ru seemed to read his expression. "I must apologize. I am a storyteller yet, but only of the past. I have not the gift of prophecy, perhaps only with gut feelings, and ominous words." He chuckled, then sobered. "I only mean to say, the dragons all along the Kindelline now know your Gicpa as Prince. And the more I am told about you, the more I see you together," He glanced up to where Hiccup was bent over a sketchbook, watching his surroundings keenly, "I can see why they do."

Toothless turned and looked at Hiccup. A thought struck him. "And why did you not invite him to stay?"

Ru shuffled his feet and sighed. "Tóðléas, I do not know how much of the human experience you have inherited in your behwearft. But there is a large difference between how dragons deal with knowledge, and how humans do. Dragons, we have thick scales and flexible wings to carry us through the harshest of gales untouched and unmoved. But humans? Humans have no scales, or wings. They have minds that imagine and hands that create, eyes to feed curiosity, and feet to take them where their strong hearts lead them. In the realms of knowledge, Dragons are creatures of constantsy and perseveration. Humans are magnets of wonderment and exploration. Dragons have physical fire, but when given new knowledge, the fire of one inquisitive human can outlast that of a thousand dragons." He glanced at Hiccup. "Your human has a bright mind-fire behind his eyes. I do not know if his people have any conception of magic, or of the flow of history and the world. If he were to hear what I have just told you, I fear that he would take it into his human hands and grow too willing to wrestle it, to test magic and fate, to make something of it that it is not meant to be."

"If he understood its importance, he would not infringe," but even as he said it, Toothless wondered.

"Maybe not," Ru allowed. "But there are reasons why dragons, not humans, have always been the guardians of magic. Were he to hear what I've told you, he would be tempted, because he is human. And I did not want to do him the disservice." The dragon breathed in deeply and sat up. Toothless felt their conversation coming to an end. "I also wanted to make sure that you understood clearly, before you decided what you wished to share with him, and what you wish to keep to yourself."

"What, about what you've told me just now?"

"Precisely. I do not pretend to know what the best course of action is, nor do I pretend I have a full grasp of how the behwearft works. But I know dragons, and I know humans, and I know that you may not want to share everything with young Gicpa, or else he may grow obsessed with altering the course of what will be your future. But," Ru sighed, "For all my knowledge of them, humans still baffle me, sometimes. And you know your friend far better than I. I will leave the decision up to you."

Toothless nodded, actually very grateful for the gesture. He had plenty to consider. "Thank you," He said. Ru only nodded.

"You may invite him back over, if you wish."

Toothless could see Hiccup clearly now, because the sun was rising. "Hiccup!" He called, and the boy's copper hair glinted gold in the sun as he turned his head. Toothless gestured for him to come over. Hiccup closed up his sketchbook and pencil, and jogged over.

"I am sorry about the wait," Toothless told him in Norse, "Ru only wished to speak with me about the… me being human."

"Yeah, that's okay." Hiccup gave a smile, and looked somewhat awkward. "Um…" he glanced back toward the bridge that led to the village. "Listen, the village is probably about to wake up, and, uh, even though they'll hear about this eventually, I don't want to freak them out, or get interrupted, so… want to take a walk to the cove together?" He looked between Toothless and Ru. Toothless nodded, but Ru looked completely blank-faced. After an odd silence, he said in Dragonese,

"I have learned many human tongues in my time, young master, but I am afraid I am farther west than my language skills can carry me."

Hiccup turned bright red. "Oh!" He said, and deliberately switched language. "I'm sorry. I said, my village will be waking by now, and I do not want to be interrupted. Would you like to walk into the forest, to be more alone?" Ru smiled, and nodded.

"Of course. Lead the way."

And so they walked together, talking easily in Dragonese. Once in a while, Hiccup would get stumped on a word or ask one of the dragons to repeat a phrase that he hadn't understood. He always apologized profusely for it, feeling clumsy as the only non-native speaker in the bunch, but both Toothless and Ru were quietly amazed at how fluent he'd become.

Hiccup asked many questions about the big world that Ru had described, and while he answered them all patiently, Ru sent Toothless a knowing look. Mind-fire, his eyes reminded Toothless, like a precaution. Toothless looked down at the ground to think.

They reached the cove and sat together in the cool morning sunshine. After a while, Hiccup finally mustered up the courage to ask what he'd been wanting to ask all morning.

"Um, Ru, do you think… Would it be alright…umm…"

"Yes?" the tall dragon asked patiently.

Hiccup drummed his fingers against his sketchbook, cheeks blushing red. "Um, could I, could I draw you?"

Ru chuckled at the human's shyness. "Charcoal pictures? Of me?" Hiccup nodded at him. "Of course, young Gicpa, I wouldn't mind at all."

Hiccup beamed at him, and pulled out his sketchbook. They stayed in the cove together for another hour or so, talking and sharing stories, Hiccup drawing and asking questions (increasingly less shyly) about scales and tails and other dragons from Ru's homeland. Eventually, it was Hiccup's loudly-growling stomach that ended their visit.

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too," Toothless said with a smile. He stood and dusted off his trousers. "We should probably be back to the village soon, anyway."

Hiccup looked alarmed to leave their visitor so soon, but Ru stood with them and said, "If it is all the same to you and your weyr, I would ask to stay here for a few moons longer. It is a long trip back to the Eastlands. And besides," He smiled at them, "It would be an honor to enjoy your company again, both of you."

Toothless smiled, and bowed. "Of course, friend. As long as you need." He glanced about the cove. "I called this place home for several months, years ago," Hiccup hid a smile at the memory, "It is a comfortable place, if you wish to take it as a shelter. There are plenty of fish in the pond, so long as you can catch them." He chuckled, as did Ru, who caught the joke. Before the two humans left, Ru stopped Toothless to tell him,

"Remember what I said about humans. Your decision will be better-educated than mine, I am sure, but consider carefully."

Toothless nodded seriously, because he had been considering, all morning. When they got back to the house, he was still quietly thinking to himself.

"Where've you been?" Stoick asked them when he found them eating a late breakfast. Hiccup began to hum an answer, but had to finish swallowing before he said,

"Mælaende eac draca ærendsecg fram éast, hwætgeáseted oþ ácwiðeeþ ús-"

"Hiccup," Toothless interrupted, as Stoick stared at his son like he'd grown antlers. Hiccup looked over at Toothless, not sure why he'd cut in.

"Hwa?" He asked, confused.

"Norse," the fury said pointedly. It took a moment for comprehension to dawn, but then Hiccup's eyes went wide and he blushed furiously.

"W-was I…?"

"Yes,"

"Oh." Hiccup looked sheepishly over at his father. "Sorry, dad."

Stoick blinked a few times, and shook his head. He wasn't sure if he was more proud or completely uncomfortable with the fact that his son could speak to dragons. "Talking with dragons all morning, I'll guess," Stoick said, stepping around the table.

"Uhh, yeah. Something like that." Hiccup drummed his fingers awkwardly on the edge of the table as his father left the house. He looked up and locked eyes with Toothless across the table. Toothless was trying very hard not to laugh. The door shut behind Stoick, and he held it in for about two more seconds, but then Hiccup and Toothless both burst out laughing.

"Did you see his face?" Toothless asked.

"I didn't even realize I was doing it!" Hiccup said, hiding his face in his hands, even as he smiled.

"Oh, that was priceless. Promise me you'll do it again – oh, oh, in front of Snotlout, that will be fun to watch!"

"Oh, gods, they'll think I'm even crazier than they already do."

Toothless was giggling. "It will be worth it."

"Ugh," Hiccup shook his head. He wasn't upset, but he was just realizing, "you know, one day I'll just be that crazy old dragon guy who no one understands but you." He shrugged, and looked down at his lap. His face sobered slightly, and he asked, "this… language learning. You, teaching me…" He looked up. "What d'you think it's all for? I mean, in the end, afterward?"

"I don't know," Toothless said, but he was thinking over all the things that Ru had told him, everything that he wondered if he should share with Hiccup. He smiled with the side of his mouth, eyes looking somewhere beyond Berk. "Something amazing."

A/N:There you go! Hopefully you guys like this chapter a bit more than I do. And in case you hadn't guessed it, Ru is based off of a Chinese dragon and is, obviously, supposed to be from the HtTYD-verse equivalent of China. So yeah, he's travelled a ways.

Translations:

Heofenas bufan: Skies above

Mælaende eac draca ærendsecg fram éast, hwætgeáseted oþ ácwiðeeþ ús: Speaking with a dragon messenger from the east, who came to tell us-