Shadow slunk through the darkened forest away from the village. This wasn't good. She was sure they were onto her. She was foolish and reckless and let them know too much. Perhaps it was time to get away.

She lent up against a large tree and sighed. There was no way she could leave. The docks were guarded so she couldn't steal a boat, not to mention the newcomer and his crew were there too; Dagur, she believed the teens called him.

And there was no way for her to fly away either. She had no wings of her own, and no dragon would ever let her onto their back.

She was stuck here. Until the new moon came again and the great black beast returned.

She sighed again. They were close to figuring it out, too close. She feared that she wouldn't live to see the next new moon. Maybe not even until the glorious full moon.

Her ears perked up at the sounds of someone moving through the bush. It was only small, whatever it was, and didn't make much noise. But it was getting closer.

Her nostrils flared and she focused her hearing. It was only Hiccup. He soon came out of the bushes from a few meters behind her as he finally caught up.

"Shadow, there you are. I was worried." He said to her. "What happened back there? You looked frightened."

Despite his questions that she didn't wish to answer, she was secretly glad he followed her into the forest. She had never had a friend who cared enough to follow her. She was starting to seriously think of him as a friend, after all the time he spent trying to get her to open up. Every time he pried into her life, it was always with concern and curiosity; and without any malicious intent in his eyes.

"I- I don't feel comfortable talking right now. Its just- everything is going just a bit too fast for me to deal with." She said to him.

He nodded in understanding. "Well, would you like to go for a walk to clear your mind?"

Shadow thought for a moment and nodded. The two of them walked off through the shadowy forest, enjoying the scenery and smells of the clean, fresh air. Neither of them spoke while they walked. Hiccup knew she was a very closed off person, and promised himself that he wouldn't pry too much, and hoping that she would open up to him in time.

They walked between the towering trees, and around large moss covered boulders. Something got caught around Shadow's feet and she stumbled. Hiccup grabbed her arm gently to prevent her falling, but let go of her quickly before she could protest. Shadow saw it was a rope that nearly tripped her. On closer inspection she saw it was a bola.

"Ah, I recognise this spot. This was where I first found Toothless." Said Hiccup. Shadow looked at him quizzically. He saw her look and elaborated. "I had come out here to find him after I shot him down nearly a year ago. No one in the village believed that I shot down a Night Fury, so I went out to look for it. And, well. I found him. He was tied up in this bola, completely helpless. I tried to kill him to prove myself a Viking, but I set him free instead. I saw the look in his eyes before I could plunge my little knife in his heart. He was just as scared as I was, and I just couldn't do it. I cut him loose and he lunged at me. I thought he was going to eat me because I knocked him out of the sky. But he spared my life too and flew off."

This was the spot where it had all started. Where Hiccup spared his greatest enemy, and where the dragon didn't go for the kill. Shadow thought to herself, if members of both sides of the battle had shown mercy to each other when they were helpless at their feet, could the same be done for her and the great black beast and the Berkians?

"I'm guessing after this little misadventure, you both learned to trust one another, and it eventually led to everyone on Berk learning to coexist with dragons?" she dared to ask.

"Well," he replied. "It took a while, and they didn't accept them straight up. But we eventually found peace."

With nothing more being said, the two of them kept walking through the trees. Hiccup lead her towards the cove so they could have a rest. They walked between the boulders that made the entrance to the cove, and went own towards the water.

After splashing some water on his face, Hiccup went to find the 'camp' that the other teens had told him about. Shadow followed him.

They both saw the hundreds of black, sharp scales littered all over the ground, and the bloodstains in the grass. Shadow wrapped her arms around herself, trying to draw inside herself to avoid Hiccups questions. He just continued to inspect the area.

Eventually, he turned to her. He knew that she was hiding something, but she looked so guilty and horrible that he felt really bad that he had to ask.

"Shadow. I know that you have something to do with this. The Black Moon dragon. I know that there is some connection between you and it, and I'd like you to tell me what it is… but I want you to tell me when you are ready. When you are comfortable." He said softy.

Shadow couldn't help but collapse on the ground and cry, no one had ever been so kind to her. Those who wanted information out of her usually demanded it, and tortured her for it. No one had ever shown her kindness, and she didn't know how to deal with it. The tears just flowed without her consent.

"No- no one has ever shown me this much kindness. How can you be so kind to me?" she cried.

Hiccup went over to her and crouched in front of her, he carefully put a hand on her shoulder. "Shadow, you are a friend of mine, and I couldn't force you to do anything you don't want you to. Please, just know that I'm here. You might not have been here long, but you are already a friend. And as much as I'd like to know about you and the dragon, I'd rather see you happy and open towards us." He said to her calmly. Shadow was calming down from her fit of tears. She took a few breaths before speaking.

"By now Hiccup, I can't deny it. There is a connection between me and that dragon. Where it goes, I follow. I'm cursed to follow it for the rest of my life. We are connected." She whispered.

Hiccup's mind was flowing with thoughts and unanswered questions, but for her sake, he didn't ask. She would tell him when she was ready. He wouldn't pressure her about the connection.

The two of them sat together on the ground, making small talk or just sitting in silence. After a while, the two went to inspect the camp again and get rid of the dead, and smelly, fish left behind. The wind blew around them making them shiver. Hiccup wasn't affected so much, but he could see Shadow was shivering. He leggings, boots and cloak wasn't doing much for the cold. He mentally facepalmed himself.

He decided that she needed to get some more, and warmer clothes. An idea popped into his head. Maybe she would open up to him more if he made her a set of armour. He thought it might put him in her good books and they would get along better. Not only that, but he wanted to test out something, and decided she should be the first one to benefit.

He bent down and grabbed as many of the shed scales as he could and arranged them on the ground. With his new idea taking shape, he told his idea to Shadow.

She looked shocked at first, but then her face lightened up at the prospect.

As the sun began to head towards the west, they grabbed as many scales as they could and returned back to the village, their friendship growing stronger. Shadow felt like she might actually be happy for once in her life. And for once, had someone that she could safely call 'friend'.