5. Heart to Heart

The pair soared for hours until the first pinks and oranges rose to symbolize the dawn. Sila turned and they flew back to the village. Caleri stroked Sila's scales while they went home.

"So can all humans talk to their dragons?" Caleri asked.

"I don't believe so. Father and Hiccup can't communicate. I think they only understand each other because they have been together so long," Sila replied. Caleri nodded and they landed on the edge of the village. The girl dismounted and the pair walked the rest of the way. Sila sensed that her parents were looking for her and Toothless landed in front of them. Caleri jumped at the sudden appearance of the black dragon. He ignored the human and looked straight at his daughter.

"Where in Odin's name were you last night! You had your mother and I worried sick! She had thought you had run away like your brother," Toothless roared. Sila flinched at her father's rage. Caleri looked between the two and took a step back. Toothless fixed his stare on her. He looked between Sila and Caleri several times and his expression softened.

"Father, this is Caleri, my human," Sila explained. Caleri stepped closer and gingerly placed a hand on Sila's neck. Toothless nodded and signaled that they needed to follow him.

"They were almost to Hiccup's when a cry went out. "Sila!" Terra exclaimed. Terra ran up to her daughter and nuzzled her. "I was so worried. Where have you been?" Terra looked at Caleri and understanding dawned on her face.

"This is Caleri," Sila explained. Terra looked the Viking girl up and down and nodded in approval.

"So that's where you were all night, I see," Terra said. A sad look crossed her face. "Now you have to live with Caleri."

"Mother, I'll still be living on the island, so it's not like I'm leaving forever," Sila said. Her mother nodded and her sad look went away.

"Alright, now go, I'm sure Caleri's parents are worried sick as well," Toothless said. He winked at his daughter and the mates went back inside their own home. Sila followed Caleri to her home.

"Did you understand what they were saying?" Sila asked, looking at her new friend. Caleri shook her head.

"Only what you said to your parents," she responded. The rest of the time they walked in silence until they came to a small hut. It was a ramshackle hut. Some of the boards were falling off the frame and the door was barley attached. Parts of the roof had fallen in and Sila looked around in disgust.

"Home, sweet home," Caleri said sadly. She walked up and opened the door. Sila followed and felt the sadness of the place. Caleri turned into what would have been a family room. The walls looked scorched from an ancient fire and Caleri sat down on the old rotting floor. Sila gingerly stepped on the floor and shivered from the vibrations of the termites gnawing at the wood. She traveled in farther and curled around Caleri.

"This is where you live?" Sila asked. Caleri nodded but wouldn't look at Sila. "What happened?" Caleri took a shaky breathe.

"I was only four when it happened. It was the last dragon raid, before Hiccup and Toothless changed how Vikings and dragons acted to each other. A Monstrous Nightmare started the fire and my mother was caught inside. She threw me out the window before the flames engulfed the house. My father became enraged and went on the voyage to the Dragon's Den. He was killed by the same dragon that killed my mother. My grandmother took me in and raised me. She died when I was ten. I had nowhere else to go, so this is where I've been living the past six years here." Tears gathered in the corner of Caleri's eyes and Sila gently wiped them away with a claw.

"I'm sorry," the Night Fury said. Caleri nodded and looked at her dragon.

"What about you? Why are you so different from the other Night Furys?" Sila shrugged.

"I've always been this way. I was born like this. It makes it hard to interact with others, because they look at me and run. These spikes," she lifted her tail to show them off, " make it hard for me to interact as well. When I was a hatchling, I was wrestling with my brother Fangmouth and my tail caught his underbelly. I sliced him open pretty bad and I hid for five days. I found out he was okay, but I've never played with my siblings ever since." Caleri patted her back and nestled into the space between her arm and wing.

"Good morning, Sila," Caleri said, laughing a little. Sila spread her wing to cover her friend.

"Same to you," Sila whispered, and they drifted to a deep sleep.