Astrid's breathing was becoming shallow. Hiccup's own feet ached. After deciding it would be best to try to get to high ground -hopefully to find some clean water, and it would give them a better view of the island- they had headed off towards the extremely rocky mountain they could see in the distance.

He had no clue how long they had been walking, but it had definitely been a long while. He could hear the metal part of his prosthetic leg creak under the strained pressure. Sighing, he made the decision that this would be a good place to stop for the night. They had only just gotten to the foot of the mountain, but would need daylight and rest to climb it. Luckily, the mountain was outer north side of the island, just along the edge, so they didn't run into anyone. It appeared that the Outcasts' village was more in the centre or south side of the island.

Hiccup knew that Astrid would never admit that she was exhausted; she was too proud, so he stopped. "I think we should make camp here, and start climbing the mountain tomorrow." Astrid didn't say anything, but she smiled weakly at him in thanks, knowing he knew she was tired.

"What do you have in your satchel?" she asked. Instead of sitting down, she went towards some nearby trees -no leaves or fruits on any of them- and snapped off the branches for firewood.

"I have two biscuits," he replied, rummaging through his bag. "A flask with water" -he had put it carefully in the bag, not wanting them to lose the fresh water- "a metal rod" -in case Toothless lost his tail again, although until they could find the dragon, it was fairly useless to them- "a small knife..." He paused, taking out the knife and holding it in one hand while the other searched every nook and cranny of the bag, "that's it."

After setting the branches in the proper position, Astrid walked over and took the knife from Hiccup's hands. He looked at her, about to say something, when she cut him off. "No offense Hiccup, but let's face, weapons still aren't your strong point." He shut his mouth, knowing she was right. "Now, I'll get the fire ready, and we can eat some of the biscuits alright?"

He nodded and the two moved over towards the small pile of wood. Astrid picked up two stones and began to strike them together. It took a few tries, much to her frustration, but a small spark flew from the bottom stone and onto the wood. Soon, the sky getting darker and darker, they had a crackling fire going. They each only ate a small part of the biscuit. They had no idea how long they were going to be on the island, and they had to make the food Hiccup had brought last.

"You should get some sleep," Astrid said quietly after a while. "I'll take the first watch."

"No, no, you don't have to-"

"I know," she said with a soft smile. She punched him lightly in the arm, then kissed him on the cheek. "But I know you're worried sick about Toothless...you need your strength. I'll wake you up halfway through for your shift, okay?"

Hiccup smiled a little at her. "Okay...thanks Astrid." He sat down on the ground, Astrid with her back to him. He looked at his prosthetic leg. It was more comfortable to sleep with it off, but if something happened and they had to make a quick get-a-way... He lay down and rolled over onto his back, deciding to keep it on.

He was running. Thud, clank, thud, clank. He could hear his footsteps. He was running, desperate to get to his dragon -to save Toothless. Toothless was roaring in terror and fear and pain, incredible pain. And there was Alvin, popping out of nowhere, bringing an ax down. Hiccup tried to scream, do anything, but his voice wouldn't work. Time was slowing down -he wouldn't reach Toothless in time. Finally, he regained his voice.

"NOOO!"

Hiccup woke up, shaking and sweating. His heart was pounding against his rib-cage. It took a few seconds for him to calm himself down. It was just a nightmare... for now, at least. He looked around to reassure it simply was just a dream. Astrid was looking at him intently, concern shining in her eyes.

"Nightmare?" she guessed. He nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Want to talk about it?" She took his hand.

"Not really." He closed his green eyes for a moment. "Why don't you get some sleep now, I'll be fine."

Astrid squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Alright. Just wake me up if anything happens." The blonde handed over the knife and he clutched it tightly. Then she lay down and rolled over, so she wasn't facing him. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, Hiccup stared at the dark woods that covered the area around the mountain. Briefly he glanced up to see the mountain; it was ominous looking, and it was darker at night. He could see crags in the stone, veering off into sharp turns. His stomach twisted into knots at the thought of climbing it. Astrid would be fine, he was sure, but he would've already had difficulty climbing it, even without his metal leg.

It's for Toothless, he reminded himself. Slowly his stomach unwound itself. It's all for Toothless.

He went back to looking ahead in the dark woods.

The Night Fury was extremely aware that everything hurt. His wings, his head, his body, Hel, even his torn and tattered artificial tail-fin. His vision was blurry, and as he blinked away the blurriness, one thing became horribly clear. Oh Thor where was Hiccup? The dragon slowly eased himself up, ignoring the stabs of pain. He had to find his human.

Toothless started walking through the forest, the scenery - dark, bare trees, gray hills, little grass and plants, plenty of wild dragons flying overhead - became more and more familiar. Oh Odin, they were on Outcast island weren't they? Just their luck, of course.

He didn't know how long he had been walking (certainly quite a long time) when a pair of luminous, blue eyes peered at him through the darkness. Recognizing this as a fellow dragon, he called over uncertainly. "Hello?" he asked. To humans, this would've sounded like a low rumble; sometimes it was incredibly frustrating Hiccup couldn't understand him.

The other dragon replied uncertainly. "Hello. You're a Night Fury too?" The voice was quiet and hesitant, and definitely female.

"Yes. My friend will be excited to meet you -we came looking for other Night Furies!" Toothless said excitedly, but his happiness fell when he remembered; he didn't even know if Hiccup was alright. "You haven't seen anybody who isn't usually on the island have you?"

The female stepped out of the shadows, moonlight revealing her. She looked just like Toothless, except smaller, with both tail-fins intact and blue eyes. "No, sorry. Just the normal dragons and those savage humans. I've been on the island for a while." She walked closer to further inspect the male Night Fury. "What's that on your back?"

It took Toothless a moment to realize she was talking about his saddle. He was so used to having it there (and, although a little less often, a scrawny Viking) he often forgot it was on his back. "Oh, this is a saddle. My friend made it for me."

"Who is your friend exactly?" she asked suspiciously. A rustle ran around them, making the female paw the ground nervously. "Those savage humans might be coming. They like to hunt at night. I know a safe place. Do you want to come?" It would be nice, to not be alone, after all.

"Depends," Toothless replied. "Will we have to fly there?" He hoped not; he had a feeling this Night Fury wouldn't take too kindly to the fact he was friends with humans.

She shook her head. "No. The savage humans never think to look somewhere dragons wouldn't usually go. In the cliff is my safe place. Come on, I'll show you."

A little while later, after walking in silence, the two dark-scaled dragons found themselves at the foot of a cliff, at a beach, on the South side of the island. Many caves were available in the cliff. The female Night Fury scampered up the rocks, gliding her way into her hide-out. Toothless followed, having a bit more difficulty since he couldn't fly.

The female Night Fury scorched the ground beneath her, circling before settling down for the the night. "By the way," she said sleepily. "My name is Jaci."

Meatlug was frantic. Fishlegs, Toothless, Hiccup, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Astrid were nowhere to be found. It was late, and the dragons (Hookfang, Stormfly and Barf and Belch) had been walking for a long time, searching for their riders. "Should we go back to Berk and get help?" she suggested to the Nightmare, Nadder and Zippleback.

"That sounds like a good plan," Belch said. Then Barf spoke up.

"You mean run away!" he snapped. The two heads started arguing and snapping at one another. Meatlug sighed. Usually Toothless broke up their fights.

"Our riders could be in danger and you're arguing like hatchlings," Stormfly admonished. Barf and Belch hung their heads, looking ashamed; it was no time to be arguing. Stormfly snorted, smoke rising from her nostrils, pleased with herself. "Good. Now, all those in favour of Meatlug's idea, say 'Aye'."

The chorus of 'Ayes' went smoothly. Stormfly preened her wings for a moment, cleaning them. Then she looked to Hookfang. "You're the only one who knows the way to Berk. Lead the way Hookfang." The dragons took off, soaring into the night sky, Hookfang proudly showing off in front until Stormfly whacked him "accidentally" in the head with her wing for goofing off.

When the sun finally came up, Hiccup looked relieved. He rubbed his tired eyes and then shook Astrid awake with some difficulty; she was a heavy sleeper. After she was up, the two looked at the large mountain. "Ready to climb fishbone?" she teased.

Hiccup smiled a little. "Ready as I'll ever be." Together, they set off on the steep path, ignoring their rumbling stomachs. They had more important things to address, at the moment.

Not even an hour after leaving their campsite and getting a fifteenth of the way up the mountain did someone stumble upon their abandoned campsite. The Viking recognized the tracks in the dirt - a pair of boots next to another footprint of a boot and then a rectangular shape, oddly enough - and grinned, showing his missing teeth.

"Ooh, Alvin'll like this," Savage said to himself, and he went to find the Outcast leader. Alvin would like this very, very much...

Just go ahead and hate me. Really. Just do it. It's been what, months? *Winces* I am so, so, so sorry. Life and exams have gotten in the way. In a few days though, I'll be free and able to write as much as I want each day! Also, the next chapter will be sooner and much longer than this one, I assure you.

I think the dragons' personalities would resemble their rider's, as shown here. Also, Jaci means 'moon' in Tupi, Native American. I wanted to use a Norse name for lightning (since Night Furies are the 'unholy offspring of lightning and death itself') or moon, but couldn't find one I really liked. Slowly, we'll get her full story. Her name is pronounced like Jasy.

Please review.