The short flight had only compounded the ache in my body. I slid off the saddle, wincing when my legs protested every motion. Sapphire straightened up and stretched her wings, which trembled a little. Hiccup smiled at me.

"You both will get used to it, but not using those muscles the day after a flight like that will only make it worse."

"My body disagrees," I hissed through my teeth.

"It'll thank you tomorrow. Now, I've got to do a few more rounds before I'll come back and fix something up for us."

"Thanks, Hiccup." He smiled and they were off. I got the door open a few inches, only to freeze.

Orris was sitting up.

'Crap!'

I grabbed Sapphire's head and planted my foot against the doorframe, trying to push her away from the hut.

"Backupbackupbackup!" I hissed in a panic. After a moment of confused resistance, she stepped back. "My brother's awake. I don't know how he'll react to you." She sat down and curled her tail around her paws.

"Thanks." I stepped inside and quietly shut the door. My younger brother was seemingly in a daze. He must have woken up a few minutes ago. He was rubbing his head as he was deep in thought.

"Orris?" His eyes squeezed shut before they fluttered open. He locked eyes with me and his lips cracked open, though only a wheeze came out. I knelt at his side, my hands up in a calming manner. "Sh, sh, sh, it's okay. You're safe. We're both safe." His eyes rolled around a little and he closed them.

"Where…are we?"

"We're at a friend's house. He saved my life. He helped me rescue you."

"Well, that's good. This, this looks like a Viking hut." I scoffed in fond disbelief.

"Of course you could pick up on that."

"Vikings can be viciously territorial," He noted.

"Luckily the man that found me was a black sheep." I chuckled. "You should get some rest."

"I'm, okay. I feel like I couldn't sleep if I wanted to." I shot a glance at the door, but it stayed shut. "So, who's the man that saved you?"

"His name is Hiccup. He's the son of the chief of Berk."

"Berk?"

"Heard of it?" I asked. He adjusted himself.

"Only that they're the scariest Vikings this side of our home." He looked over the bandages wrapped around his chest. "I, don't remember much from the last few days. What, happened?" I explained our rescue to him, leaving the dragons out of the story.

"Wow. That's…thanks."

"Any time. Now lie down, you need to rest."

"I'm not tired," He said flatly.

"And I say you need rest."

"No fair…" He grumbled even as he laid down again, rolling onto his side to face the fire. "Why do you always get to boss me around?"

"Because I'm the older brother," I prodded playfully. He huffed before closing his eyes. I stayed by his side until I was sure he was asleep. I quietly stepped out of the building.

Moving over to Sapphire, I leaned against her shoulder. She glanced between me and the door a few times, a silent question in her eyes. I nodded.

"He's okay. I told him to get some more rest. I just didn't want him freaking out. Or, doing the completely opposite and trying to touch a dragon that isn't friendly." She shot me a look of disbelief. "Look, okay, I…He doesn't have the same fears as I do, so I have to worry for both of us when it comes to dragons. He's still just as afraid as anyone else, but his curiosity might outweigh it." The fur around her ears lowered a bit, probably thinking about when she had first met me. I wouldn't have been shocked to learn her ears had rung for a good day after that.

A dragon squawked overhead and I winced. Sapphire nudged me towards the hut, purring a little.

"Alright. If you're okay with being out here alone." She stood up and nudged me before tromping off into the nearby woods. I smiled fondly after her before stepping back inside.

««{{¤}}»»

It was a good thing that Astrid had offered her home's stables to house Toothless and Sapphire for a short time, otherwise Orris would have accidentally seen them.

He wasn't intimidated by Stoick in the slightest, even giving him a firm, for a 12 year old, hand shake upon hearing he was housing us as the chief.

Him and Hiccup got along perfectly, talking geography for hours. Hiccup had started a map centering around Berk and had slowly added to it as he traveled and explored. Orris made an absent-minded comment about how fast their ships must be, but missed our shared look of panic.

I grimaced after meeting Sapphire outside the hut on the second day of Orris being awake. He was walking now. Berkians believed in hearty meals so he was hopefully start putting on some weight as well. The problem was that he was ready to see Berk in full.

"Come on, John, there's no reason for me to stay inside! I'm bored!"

"…"

"What is going on? You're not normally this hesitant, even with dad around." I ignored the slight dig.

"Orris, I, want you to trust me." He pulled back a little.

"You're acting weird."

"Yeah, well, things got weird." I folded my arms. "Berk has changed since you heard about it. For the better," I added before he could comment, "But it's, different."

"How?" I turned to Hiccup and nodded.

"Let her in." We had talked about it the day before. Toothless was simply too excitable at times. Sapphire would be much calmer. A better option for Orris to meet his first dragon.

Not that I didn't trust Sapphire with my life, or in fact Orris', but my nerves were still on fire.

Hiccup stepped over and opened the door.

"Let who…?" Orris' words died on his lips as Sapphire poked her head in. She looked around with her head lowered, her eyes locking onto me, before stepping cautiously inside.

"J-John, that's…" Sapphire stepped over to me, each movement purposeful, her eyes drifting between us brothers. She sat down and curled her tail around her paws. Orris had paled considerably.

I made the first move and placed my hand on Sapphire's shoulder. Orris gasped.

"Y-you're touching it!" He lost what he was going to say next when Sapphire placed her nose in the crook of my neck. A completely vulnerable spot she could take advantage of if she wanted to.

"Berk has learned the truth about dragons. They're not mindless creatures," I said.

"You're touching a dragon…!" I smiled, finally breaking through the tension.

"Orris, I would like you to meet Sapphire. She helped me bring you to Berk after we rescued you." His brow furrowed. His brow furrowed even as his eyes widened.

"That's why the boat felt so weird…it wasn't a boat, it was a dragon!" He went to stand up, only to lose his balance. I was next to him immediately and took his arm even as my stomach dropped.

"Easy, easy. You can say hi, but there's no reason to end up unconscious." He flushed red in the cheeks.

"R-right." I stayed by his side as we stepped closer to Sapphire. That was when his nerves kicked in. He held his right hand close to his chest, while his other one grasped my hand. I squeezed it reassuringly.

"It's okay. If I feel safe around her, there's nothing to fear."

"Y-yeah, of course. Just, admiring her."

"Orris, don't lie to me, please." His eyes fell to the floor for a second before raising to meet mine.

"Okay. It's just…she's so big," He whispered. She was far from deaf, but I understood his nerves.

"She is. Her shoulder stands at about my head." I took the hand I was already holding and lifted it up, stretching it out towards Sapphire, who was doing a perfect job of waiting.

"Let her come to you." I could feel him shaking. Sapphire leaned forward and took in his scent. She purred and brushed against his palm. He gasped.

"She, has fur?" He questioned as I let go of his hand. He began running his fingers through her coat, taking in every detail.

"Unique to her kind, from my knowledge," I explained as she continued brushing against his hand. I scratched her neck, smiling at the purr that brought out of her.

"He…hello, Sapphire…" Orris said. I wondered how long it would take for him to realize it wasn't a dream. "I'm, petting a dragon…! A real, dragon!" His eyes snapped up to mine.

Oh.

There it is.

"John!"

"Oof!" I wrapped my arms around him as he hid his face from the world.

"They told me you were dead!"

"Well, father was never good at telling the truth, now was he?" I responded gently as I rubbed his back, careful of his wounds. He sniffed and shook his head, still hugging me.

"No. I guess not." He tipped his head back so he could see me. "I just…they told me you took a boat, but dragons had attacked you before you got out of sight. I thought…" His chest heaved with a breath.

"Well, they lied. Here, Sapphire?" I asked. She laid down and I helped Orris sit against her stomach before taking my place next to him, leaning against her shoulder. Hiccup caught my eye with a wave and nodded towards the door before stepping out. I was grateful for that. He could probably tell we needed some time to catch up.

"So, you're…friends with a dragon." He looked passed me to Sapphire, who was watching with kind, curious eyes.

"Yeah, long story short, she was more stubborn than I was. I tried to get away but she kept following me." I went on to explain how we met, leaving out my meltdown beforehand. Of course, Orris giggled when I said I accidentally hit her in the head with a rock, which he got a couple of flat looks for.

"I thought I was going to die," I deadpanned.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He yelped when I poked him in the side. "Hey! I'm still sore!" He gasped around his laughter. It felt so good to hear him laugh again.

««{{¤}}»»

I panicked when Toothless skidded to a stop in front of us right as we stepped outside. Orris and I both cried out in protest as snow was tossed up from his paws.

"TOOTHLESS!" I snapped, my voice admittedly higher than I'd like. The dragon ducked his head. "Come on, it's freezing out here without being covered in snow!" I brushed Orris off as he and Toothless stared at each other.

"Woah. Is that…?"

"A Night Fury? Yup," I said as I got the last bit of snow off his shoulder.

"Fastest dragon this side of the Archipelago." Hiccup walked up and leaned his elbow on the dragon's shoulder.

"Wow." Orris' eyes drifted along Toothless' form, taking in every detail. His brow furrowed. Toothless, easily reading the expression, shifted his tail around and held it up. "What happened?"

"I shot him down a few years ago."

"Oh." Orris went quiet as his gaze flicked between the black and red tail fins.

"He's okay. We've learned to adapt, and I was able to give him his flight back. Though, I need to help him." Hiccup pushed on the pedal with his hand, which flexed the prosthetic. Toothless pulled it away and nuzzled Hiccup. "I regret that he got hurt, but we're all better for it because I decided to pull that trigger." We talked for a few more minutes, getting Orris used to the two similar dragons.

Astrid was walking by and caught sight of us. She came over and introduced herself before asking if Orris wanted to meet her own dragon. I barely stopped myself from objecting and reserved the back of the small group as we trudged through the snow.

Orris was