"Stoick! Why are you letting this filth live in our village? She has lied to us, tricked us for her own benefit and put us all in danger!" yelled someone with an old cranky voice.

Hiccup groaned once he realised who it was. Mildew. The old man and asshat of the entire village who hated just about everything except for his pet sheep. Shadow turned around to look at the thin, old man who had his walking stick in one hand pointed at her, and his sheep under the other arm.

"She has no right to be here, in fact, for all the horrible things she has done, she deserves to be kicked off the island. Or better yet, executed!" yelled the old man.

Shadow growled and stood up to her full height. Her wings and horns made her look that much taller than Hiccup, making her look very intimidating, if the glowing eyes, claws, teeth and snarl weren't enough.

"Hey kid." She began. "I do not think it would be wise to antagonise the very creature that could eat your pet in three bites." She growled. Mildew scoffed.

"Kid? Who are you calling kid? How dare you!" he yelled, brandishing his stick.

Shadow took a few slow steps forward, the loud thumps echoing around the now silent great hall. Shadow was livid at this disgusting old man who dared defy her. His horrible smell filled her nose and made her face crinkle in disgust. By the looks of everyone around her, no one liked him, and now she didn't either. Hiccup could see the look in her eyes, she meant business. Mildew was sure to get an earful.

"Unless you have forgotten, as I said before, I am three hundred and seventy five years old. I am old enough to have had sex with your great grandfather, kid. And you may seriously need to rethink your life choices if you think it's a good idea to piss off a fire breathing beast who can reduce your frail body to a pile of ash and wear the skin of that large, hairy rat as a coat." She snarled.

Ouch. Thought Hiccup. That was harsh. Mildew looked horrified, and probably not because of her threat. Maybe it was time to reel her in before she did anything too brash.

"Uh, Shadow, I think that's enough." He said. Shadow looked towards him and visibly calmed. Mildew angered at the very sight of her.

"See here Stoick, she would threaten a poor old defenceless man. Would you stand by and do nothing as she does what she pleases, including insulting old men?" he cried. Shadow huffed at him, but this time, smoke billowed out of her nostrils in warning. Underneath the scales covering her chest, there glowed a faint red, meaning that she was readying a fire blast. Mildew finally got the message and shut up.

"Remember this kid. Blinding light, searing pain, and then 'poof', you're nothing but a pile of ash." She smirked.

"Enough." Rumbled Stoick's heavy voice. "Mildew, Shadow is not to be executed for anything, especially not for being what she is. We don't lop off the heads of people just because they are different. And Shadow, I would appreciate it if you didn't go threatening members of my village… even if no one likes him." Shadow allowed a slight smirk on her lips. Those last six words were whispered softly, but her powerful ears had picked them up.

"Apologies, Stoick." She said.

"Now, back to the business at hand. How many of your kind are out there?" he asked.

Shadow had to stop and think for a moment before answering. Last time there had been a count was well over fifty years ago. "Last time we were counted, we had five hundred mating pairs, and less than a thousand hatchlings under minimum mating age. The lowest it has ever been." She replied.

Hiccup watched Shadow's face closely as she told them of how many of her kind there were. Roughly two thousand seemed like a lot, but the more he thought about it, the smaller the number seemed. Shadow hadn't probably seen another of her own kind in ages, and there was no telling how many of those dragons had disappeared completely in the time that had passed. Their known world was already extremely large, but Shadow had spoken of so many different places that even trader Johan had never heard of. To her, the world was so big, far bigger than the world the Berkians knew.

"Now, we only have one question left for you at this time. After you answer this, you may leave and go where you please." He said. Shadow nodded. Here comes the big one, she thought. One thing she wasn't certain of was what he meant by leave. Did he mean leave the Great Hall, or the island itself? Patiently, she waited for his final question.

"What are your true intentions of coming here?"

Shadow let out a shaky breath. She had many intentions for a lot of things, some of which may not be the best thing to say in front of the chief. She thought it best to speak of her intentions regarding her mission as a scout, instead of her intentions regarding others. May be for the best…

"Before I arrived on Berk, my intentions were to find a suitable place to camp while I explored the surrounding oceans for a nesting ground. I needed to find a place to rest and recover my strength so I could continue my scouting mission. If I were to be discovered by members of a human settlement, my intentions were to be assimilate and exploit every resource available to ensure my own survival, and stay hidden from all humans. My dragon form was to remain strictly confidential and unknown. However, after meeting the dragon riders who caught onto my behaviour, my intentions were changed, they became: keep them from finding out, do not draw too much attention to myself, and use whatever, or whoever I could to ensure I had an escape route." She said calmly. Shadow's eyes flicked to Hiccup sitting beside her. From that one small gaze, he knew what she meant.

When she marked him, it was her way of making sure she had an escape. She had him wrapped around her little finger to benefit herself. He was her escape card, and that made him feel horrible with the knowledge that she would exploit him. He couldn't blame her for doing it actually, because after being alive for so long and using those methods for survival, old methods die hard. He couldn't blame her for using him, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Stoick gazed squarely into the eyes of the dragon girl before him, what he saw in her eyes was truth. Pure, cold, heartless truth. He knew there were more things from her unsaid, but right now wasn't the time to ask. In fact, it may not be any of his business to ask, he thought as his gaze turned to a solemn Hiccup.

His eyes glanced back at Shadow, who seemed to speak to him over the distance of the table and fire, as if reading his thoughts and expression. Her eyes were filled with promise, and an unspoken vow of loyalty. He watched as her eyes turned to look at Hiccup affectionately, despite his sombre mood. In that moment, Stoick knew, that even if it was her nature to kill in the defence of her life, she would never be able to raise a claw against his son.

And once again, in her glowing silver eyes, he saw truth.

.

"Shadow, I need to talk to you." Came Hiccup's voice. Shadow could feel her already cold blood chill at his words. She turned and took a few steps back, to avoid knocking him over with her wings or tail.

Hiccup stood in awe at her graceful form. Even after the incident that left her in her half-form, she was still as beautiful as a Valkyrie in his eyes, coupled with the terrifying sight of the Black Moon dragon. She was truly unique. His planned words escaped his mind as he simply stared at her, taking in all her features, and marvelling at how her human and dragon aspects worked together in her lithe form.

Her head cocked quizzically as he stood in silence, and he was reminded that he just asked to speak with her. Awkwardly and with a hint of fear in his voice, he cleared his throat and asked her,

"I need to know. If you were ever in danger from us, and by killing me you could make your escape… would you do it?"

He saw Shadow visibly tense at his question, and she was frozen at the sheer intensity of his questioning gaze. Her eyes closed slowly and she let out a shaky breath.

"In the beginning, if that ever happened, I would have done it in a heartbeat to save my own life. And in the end, I would probably still do it… but Hiccup, you have to know something…" her voice trailed off into silence. Very slowly, she stepped forward into his personal space and tilted her head down to him.

Hiccup's cheeks reddened at her close proximity and his breath hitched in his throat. From this close, he could see the detail in her silver eyes, and could just about read every emotion she was experiencing in that moment.

She tilted her head forward even more until her forehead rested against his. He was reminded at just how tall she was. Her short, black hair framed her face as she looked at him and spoke softly.

"I don't think I could ever change my ways. Three hundred and seventy five years is a long time to form certain behaviours, and it would take decades to erase that from my mind. But I want you to know that even if I was forced to kill you… it would kill me too."

Her eyes became slightly glassy as she spoke, like she was confessing her greatest sins. In a way, she was.

"You have grown to mean far too much to me. Losing you would cause me pain." she whispered.

As he stood there frozen as an ice statue, she withdrew her forehead from his and gazed fully at his face. Before he could break free from his frozen trance, she leant forward again and rubbed her cheek against his in a symbol of trust and caring. It was something dragons only did with ne they cared about. Black Moons especially didn't let anything with teeth near their throats, but Shadow partook in the activity to show just how much he meant.

Silent as a Shadow, she turned and walked away towards the academy. Meanwhile, the grin on Hiccup's face grew wider with every step of her feet and swing of her tail.

Woah, thats a lot of chapters. thirty five! wow. Unless I get enough reviews that say to keep going, I think this will be the ending of the Black Moon Dragon. But do not fret, my loyal readers, I have been planning on writing a sequel to this fanfic for a while, and am just about ready to start writing. let me know if there is anything you want resolved before I officially end it, if there is nothing then this chapter is the official ending of the Black Moon dragon.

I hope you enjoyed reading my work, and thank you for all your support :) you guys are awesome! Keep your eyes out for the second edition of the Black Moon saga. Coming to you soon.

the story of Shadow, the Black Moon dragon hybrid, is yet to end...