The gang of dragons and their riders made it home without any trouble. The wind was in their favour, and there was no horrible weather to make their riding difficult. Toothless had even seemed to calm down from his outburst at Shadow, who was calmly riding on his back and respecting his space as much as she could.
Shadow and Hiccup talked through most of the ride back, mostly about their little 'contract'. She explained to him exactly what it meant for both of them, and what he could do because of that agreement.
Hiccup had asked her a few simple questions, still getting used to the idea that Shadow was more open to trusting him. He had asked about the good times in her life, what it was like to visit so many countries, and all sorts of other stuff.
They arrived back at Berk around lunch, and the group of riders parted ways to head home after being greeted by the chief. Stoick was glad to see everyone back and well after the fight with the Screaming Death, and was happy to report that there was no issues while they were gone.
After being briefed on everything, Hiccup and Shadow went back to his house. Since Shadow was still a guest on the island, Hiccup and his father had agreed to let her stay with them. Once they made it up to Hiccup's room, Shadow went and found the bag of moonstone she collected, an idea forming in her head.
She was glad she had a lot of them, because she'd be dammed if she had to go back to that god forsaken island infested with eels for more.
Hiccup watched her as she laid the moonstone out carefully on the floor and sorted them out into piles. "What are you planning on doing with those?" he asked her.
She lifted her head and gave him a small smile. "I was thinking of incorporating the moonstone into my armour, so I wouldn't have to carry it everywhere with me. I want to add the moonstone along the belt and neckline, and I'm trying to figure out what stones would be best."
He hummed in curiosity and asked her why she wanted to do that. She replied saying that because of the moonstone's properties, it could help strengthen the Black Moon dragon while she was around it. That and she thought it would look cool.
Hiccup had to agree with that, and said that he would help her modify her armour. The two of them finished unpacking from the trip and went down to the forge, bag of moonstone in hand.
While Hiccup got out the tools he would need, Shadow stripped off her armour so they could work on it. She watched in amusement as Hiccup blushed, and she chuckled lowly. While they worked on shaping the moonstone and fixing them in place, the two of them talked and occasionally asked questions.
"I've wanted to ask this question for a while, but completely forgot about it. I want to know what the Black Moon dragon's favourite food is?" he asked at one point.
She hummed and considered his question. She and the Black Moon had been all over the world, and had tasted many foods, and many different meats. A lot of which couldn't be found in other places.
"The Black Moon dragon will practically eat just about anything, from rabbits to other small dragons, but I would have to say, its favourite food would have to be shark." She finally answered.
"Why is that? Do you know?" he asked.
"Well, the one thing that has stayed consistent on its travels is shark. You can find them almost everywhere, and they don't taste half bad. It's the only type of fish large enough to state its hunger for about a week at most, and doesn't have any bones for it to sift through."
They talked about many different things throughout the day, with Hiccup still trying to understand just how open she was willing to be. Eventually, he got to one of the much bigger questions, one that he thought was some kind of legend, not truth. He asked her about the legend of the Night Fury and how it portrays the Black Moon.
"Well, you know what they say about the Night Fury. 'The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself', lightning meaning the Skrill, and death meaning the Black Moon. What people don't really know is that the 'death itself' part of that legend, is a very old myth surrounding the great black beast. It is said that the Black Moon is more of a demon from Hell rather than a dragon. A demon so powerful that it has the capabilities and strength needed to kill a god. Those who believe in the Black Moon, who don't think that it is a myth, mostly believe that the story of it being a god killing demon to be more of a false legend."
Hiccup and Shadow continued to talk for hours as they shaped and attached the moonstone to her armour. He watched as she used her clawed hands to stick the stones in place. Before he could help himself, he blurted out the first thing that came into his head.
"Why do you have such sharp claws?"
Shadow stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. She cast her gaze back down at her work, more specifically her clawed hands. "They have always been this way. When I was very young they were just normal nails, but the longer I was around the Black Moon, the more claw like they became."
"May I see?" he asked timidly. Shadow's eyes went back to looking at him, her silver irises staring into his green ones. Slowly, she held out her hand for him to inspect.
Perfectly human hands, calloused from many years of hard work and survival, coupled with large, intimidating black claws. Each claw was just less than an inch long, and shaped into a frightening point, capable of slicing through flesh with ease.
They were harder than normal nails, and probably just as strong as a dragon's. It was no wonder she was able to do damage to the Screaming death, those claws could rip through dragon skin just as easily as a sword.
These same claws could also make his skin heat up on fire. These hands were what made his flesh seemed so hot and inflamed from the most minimalist of touches.
Hiccup tore his gaze away from her hand which was grasped firmly in his, and into her glowing silver eyes. His half lidded eyes dropped ever so slightly to her mouth, more specifically, her lips and fangs. His mouth went dry and his heartrate sped up.
"m-may I look at y-your teeth?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper. Her eyebrows raised slightly, but she nodded hesitantly. With slow, definite movements, she opened her mouth and bared her teeth. He moved forward to get a better look, his face centimetres from hers.
Just like her claws, her teeth were unnaturally long and sharp. She had normal human molars, but half of her teeth were sharper than they should be. Those teeth, he realised, were designed for ripping though meat like a knife. And those fangs, god those fangs, it was if they were purposely meant for tearing through the flesh of a person or animal.
Those were the canine teeth of a true predator. One meant for biting the life out of its prey. They reminded him of the teeth of a dog, or a cat, crossed with those of a snake. It was a truly terrifying sight to see these teeth inside a human mouth, but at the same time, it made her all the more unique and beautiful in his eyes.
Her mouth slowly closed, his fingers brushing up against her lips, sending electric shocks through his body. Unconsciously, Hiccup leant closer to her, his half lidded eyes drifting close. He could feel her hot breath mingling with his, and he shivered with delight. He leaned closer, his lips a hairsbreadth away from hers, so close he could almost feel them touching.
"Easy dragon boy. You don't want to do that." She said, her voice low and husky.
He froze and pulled his head back a few inches to look into her silver eyes. They seemed darker than usual, and flashing with many emotions he could not identify.
"It's not a good idea to get attached to me." She said in that same voice. "It will only bring pain."
Hiccup tried to ignore her warning, and leant forward again, only to be stopped by her clawed hand against his shoulder, halting him. Hiccup felt disappointed.
"Why not?" he asked. His voice was low, and sounded a bit like a growl. She smirked and flashed those dangerously sharp teeth.
"Because I bite. Hard." She said it so dangerously close to a growl that his throat hitched and he couldn't breathe. He tried to push against her restraining hand, but she held firm. "My bites can be fatal you know." She whispered. "That, and I don't think your girlfriend would like it if you walked up to her with a split lip. Don't you think?" She smirked.
Hiccup sighed and leant back, the distance between their faces growing. His eyes were cast down at the ground with a mix of emotions flashing across his face. He felt ashamed for trying that, he shouldn't have done that. Her clawed finger rested under his chin, and tilted his head up to face her.
"You can't get too attached to me Hiccup. I never stay in the same place for long periods of time, it's my nature, and I am constantly on the move. If you get attached to me, it will hurt when I have to leave. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."
She was right, he knew. With everything that she has told him of her life, it meant that she would soon leave, and he wouldn't see her again for a long time. Getting attached to her would only bring pain.
But he still couldn't help thinking just how beautiful, unique and amazing she was. He wished he wouldn't have to let her go.
"Besides, you already have a mate here waiting for you. It would be unfair if you chased after me instead of going after her." She said.
Astrid, how bad would she feel if he tried to go after Shadow? It would be unfair of her. Shadow was right, he couldn't just turn away from her after so long and chase a girl he had no chance with.
He sighed and nodded, accepting her words. He then stood and went back to their work, happy that they still had something they could do together. Shadow gave him a sad smile and went to help him.
hey everybody! hope you enjoyed that chapter. the idea of this came from one of my viewers who sent me multiple reviews saying that they could see Shadow and Hiccup together as a couple. So, OechesnerC, this one is for you! Sorry, I mightn't have gotten them together, but its pretty damn close.
hope everyone enjoyed, if you did, favorite and review!