I am back and welcome my avid readers with ANOTHER CHAPTER! Wohoo! I'm not dead yet! Anyway, new chapter, more fun! Remember, every time I get a review, Toothless gets a cookie!

Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon! (Although I wish I did...)

Enjoy!

~o0O0o~

"-then we found you passed out in the forest at Ravens Point. We brought you back here and then you woke up. You've been out for several days now," Hiccup sat and explained.

Stoic the Vast and his son were sitting in the healer's house across from the bed where the girl, Alani, lay. After the scene in front of the healer's house earlier, Alani had calmed down and the healer, and her dragon Spitfire, ushered her back inside to check on her stitches. As the Chief and Soon-To-Be-Chief, Stoic and Hiccup were allowed inside to fill Alani in on what happened. Alani gaped at Hiccup as she processed everything that had happened.

"Whatcha remember 'fore yeh crash-landed lassie?" Stoic scooted closer. Hiccup did so too. They didn't wanna miss this. Spitfire laid her head in Alani's lap and the girl pet the dragon's head casually.

"We were flying like we usually do, practicing our moves and stuff. I remember hearing something behind us so I turned and there was this huge pack of Sky Serpents coming at us," she read their baffled expressions and explained, "I don't think you guys have them here. Sky Serpents are like large snakes with wings and usually they're really peaceful. My village considered them Odin's Blessed Messengers before it was destroyed by the messengers themselves, though they're usually really peaceful," she took a deep breath and continued, "The serpents chased us far over the ocean, farther than Spitfire and I have ever gone. We thought they'd stop but they just kept going at us, attacking with their lightning and fire. We saw land and flew faster to escape but then I think I passed out cause I don't remember anything after that," she looked at Spitfire who rubbed her head against her hands, begging to be pet some more. Stoic ran a large hand through his beard and hmm'd. Hiccup racked his brain for anything that could sum up the un-called blacking out. Alani didn't seem like the type to just pass out for no reason. Both Stoic and Hiccup were stumped.

"What happened right before you passed out? Do you remember?" Hiccup asked, "You were flying towards Berk, then what?" Alani's eyebrows furrowed and she struggled to remember.

"I think…yeah definitely! We were over the coastline when I heard a weird sound, the kind that you feel deep in your entire body? Right before I passed out," she looked up at Hiccup hopefully.

Coastline, weird sound. Coastline, weird sound, unconsciousness. Hiccup racked his brain for anything. Was it a dragon? Could be, there was that one that could kill a man at close range with some kinda sonic-

Hiccup shot up and ran towards the door.

"Be right back. I think I might've figured something out!" he called over his shoulder and was gone.

Hiccup ran through the village looking for the one huge dragon expert he knew. Fishlegs wasn't at the training grounds, he wasn't at the forge, and he wasn't at home. Where could that fat, dragon-loving idiot have gone off to? Hiccup nearly slapped himself. Dragon-lover = Dragon stables! Of course! Where else would he be? The place where all the dragons slept and lived when they weren't allowed inside the houses.

Hiccup ran to the stables and sure enough, there sat Fishlegs talking to his Gronkle.

"Fishlegs! What kinda dragon emits a concussive sound and lives around the coastline?"

Fishlegs looked slightly startled at the 'greeting' but answered nonetheless.

"The Thunder Drum of course! Why do you ask?"

"Great! Ok another quick question, if you're far enough away from it, could it potentially knock you out?"

"Well yeah. But if you're too close you could die, Hiccup? Where're you going?" Hiccup yelled something over his shoulder but he was already too far away.

When he returned to the healer's house he knocked twice before opening the door. Spitfire was eating a basketful of fish while Toothless looked on hopefully. The healer had come back into the room with food for Alani and her dragon. The dragon was apparently also a patient but all her injuries were almost healed. Spitfire's wing was a little sore and threatened to bite off the healer's hand one time she'd prodded a tad too hard. But other than that, she was 'right as rain' as Alani had put it. 'How could rain be right?' he thought, 'Strange.'

Alani sat up in her bead, bowl of warm soup, fresh baked bread and a large leg of meat sitting in her lap. She was tearing into it hungrily, just like Spitfire and her fish. Hiccup took his seat and waited for the girl to swallow. When she did, she looked at him, waiting for whatever he was going to say.

"You might have run across a territorial Thunder Drum," he spoke and Alani nodded, as if that made a lot more sense to her now. Stoic was bewildered.

"What of the sky serpents that were chasin' yeh?" Stoic asked.

"They must've left us alone after that. Passed out after that, remember?" she smiled not unkindly and Stoic murmured in embarrassment.

"Well deary, all yer stitches an' wounds seem t'be holdin' up," the healer walked back into the room, "Yeh can go on outside if yer reeeall careful, ya hear?" the old woman chuckled as Alani nearly jumped out of bed in her excitement and cringed slightly as she stretched the newly healed skin.

"Hey," Alani pulled Hiccup's sleeve lightly getting his attention, "Think you can show me around? I need to thank your friends for helping me and Spitfire." Hiccup nodded and led the way.

"There's the forge where we make all our stuff for the dragons and such," Hiccup pointed to the forge he worked at before the battle with the Queen Dragon. Well, he still worked there but it wasn't his only occupation anymore. Gobber was in there as usual, banging and clanging and the moment his eyes landed on Alani, started complaining about the headache she'd given him. Alani grimaced as she apologized over and over again. She had been in fight mode before she passed out so when she woke up….yeah. Spitfire's saddle was damaged beyond repair from the crash so Gobber offered to make her another one. Ecstatic, Alani drew up her old saddle's design. It was a small thing, about half the size of Toothless' own, with light padding in the seat and firm stirrup-like footholds. All-in-all it was a strange design compared to what the Isle of Berk could offer but Alani said it was designed for maximum agility. Spitfire being a female was built to be more agile in the air while Toothless was built to be faster. So the saddle worked perfectly for Spitfire.

The two were just headed to the dragon training area, dragons following behind when Snotlout and Tuffnut shouted for them to join the 'cool' group. As soon as they got there, Snotlout stepped up to Alani and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Hey there. The name's Snotlout. What's yours?" he grinned in a way he must have thought was seductive. Alani took an unconscious step back with a strained smile on her face.

"Uh hi, I'm Alani? I wanted to thank you guys for helping me and Spitfire out back there," she smiled past Snotlout who was trying to get her attention at the group. Tuffnut came forward pushing Snotlout out of the way.

"No problem. There is nothing the greatest Viking in the world can't do-"

"Oh yeah tough guy? How 'bout a bath?" his sister joked in the background. Everyone giggled; even Alani and Tuffnut's face glowed red. Fishlegs scampered up to Spitfire examining her as best he could without her growling warningly at him.

"So where'd you find Spitfire. I hear females are rare, even amongst the Night Fury species!" Fishlegs squealed happily as Spitfire took a curious step forward to sniff him. Probably smelt like fish by the happy gurgling from deep in the dragon's throat before sniffing him some more. Alani giggled again; unaware that everyone's eyes were on her waiting for her answer.

"Actually, I didn't find her. She found me," Spitfire slipped forward and nudged her head into the red-head's shoulder. Alani giggled and reached up to scratch her behind the ears; "After my parents died I was thrown into the wild to die. But Spitfire found me and we've been together ever since." The girl nuzzled her cheek against Spitfire's scaly head and she purred deeply, "In truth she's almost like the mother I never had!"

Spitfire snorted and stepped back huffing. Alani furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.

"Well you are! Almost," she laughed at the dragon that shook her head grumpily, stomping the ground with her paw. Hiccup and Astrid bit back laughter at the dragon's behavior. Snotlout and Tuffnut both walked up to Alani in slight awe.

"You can understand her?" Tuffnut asked, seemingly impressed. Alani's already fair skin paled somewhat forcing her freckles to stand out more.

"No!" she exclaimed loudly causing everyone to stare in slight shock. Alani blushed almost the same shade as her vibrant red hair, "We've just been together for a while, right girl?" she rubbed Spitfire behind the ear and the dragon cooed happily, "So what do you guys do around here for fun?"

"Well when I'm not battling the greatest dragon of all time," Snotlout bragged stepping closer to Alani who took another tentative step back, "I work out in my parent's basement. You should come watch one of these days," he wiggled his eyebrows and Hiccup motioned Alani to follow him which she gratefully did.

"We'll head over to the Dragon Training arena. You can meet the rest of the dragons there," he smiled. Toothless chirped lightly behind him, talking to Spitfire. Alani looked back towards Snotlout slightly confused.

"Wait, you still live with your parents?" Alani asked surprised. It was Ruffnut who answered her question, pushing past Snotlout who was still trying to get her attention.

"Yeah, we don't move out till we're married or drive our parents crazy," she rolled her eyes and shoved her brother away from the crimson-haired girl. Alani looked confused at Ruffnut.

"Don't you back in your village?" Astrid asked walking next to her. Alani shook her head.

"The young are usually kicked out of their homes when they come of age, usually after 17 or 18 winters," she said as they came upon the gate that led into the arena. Astrid looked confused with Alani's village life.

"So how old are you Alani?" Astrid asked, greeting Stormfly, her Deadly Nadder, in the arena. Alani thought for a moment.

"Well if I remember correctly, I'll be 18 winters this year," she smiled as Stormfly nudged her gently, sniffing the newcomer. They entered the gates leading to the great arena where the dragons gathered around their masters excitedly.

"Wow that's almost the same as us!" Ruffnut exclaimed, "Tuff and I are both 18 winters even though I was born before him," she grinned. Tuffnut scoffed loudly.

"Was not! I was!" he shoved his sister towards wall.

"Was too!" she shouted back before tackling Tuffnut to the ground.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

Hiccup placed a hand on Alani's shoulder and smiled a little ashamed of the twins' behavior who were now wrestling and rolling about on the floor. Their dragon, a Hideous Zippleback named Barf and Belch, watched them scuffle across the floor, chuckling deeply.

"They'll be like that for a while. C'mon, I'll introduce you to the rest of the dragons. You already know Stormfly by the looks of it," he laughed as Stormfly nudged Alani, begging to be pet by the newcomer. Alani giggled as Stormfly's breath ruffled her hair. Fishlegs came up to the side, Meatlug behind him.

"This is Meatlug, the best friend you can ever find in a dragon," he gushed and hugged the Gronkle. Toothless, who had joined the group and stood behind Hiccup, rolled his eyes and eyed Spitfire, who was standing behind Alani. Spitfire was still slightly wary of the other dragons touching her rider but she allowed it seeing how friendly the larger dragons were.

Snotlout shoved Fishlegs and Meatlug out of the picture proudly presenting his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang.

"Bah! Gronkles' got nuthin' on Hookfang here!" Snotlout exclaimed as Hookfang leaned down his long neck to examine the newcomer and her dragon. Spitfire let out a short warning shriek and stepped in front of Alani, forcing her back.

"Hey girl, whoa! It's ok," the crimson-haired girl tapped Spitfire on the head pushing her gently out of the way, "I don't think this one's gonna attack me." Alani reached up a tentative hand up towards Hookfang who sniffed carefully and stared at the girl before him.

"What do you mean 'this one's not gonna attack'?" Snotlout asked from atop his perch on Hookfang's neck. Alani struggled to answer in a way that wouldn't upset the dragon who was observing her carefully.

"A long time ago, after I met Spitfire, I was attacked by a Monstrous Nightmare. My legs got burned pretty bad and Spitfire didn't know what to do. We couldn't go back to my village for help so…" she trailed off sadly and squeaked when Hookfang closed the distance between them and nudged the little one in front of him. Alani relaxed and pet the red dragon that began purring under her touch. Snotlout smirked at Tuffnut who now sported a nicely forming black eye, courtesy of his sister. Tuffnut replied by kicking Hookfang who promptly bucked Snotlout right off his back. Tuffnut's snorting laughter came to an abrupt stop as Alani squeaked loudly and jumped back from the raging Nightmare, tripping over Spitfire's tail and landing hard on her back with a cry.

Spitfire shot up and roared, hissing at the Nightmare, flapping her large wings dangerously. The black dragon looked twice her size standing on her hind legs, wings beating the air furiously, teeth bared and claws extended. Hookfang froze in his tantrum and calmed, stooping low to the ground and crawling back in a sign of submission. Spitfire hissed again and turned to help Alani up while keeping a wary eye on the red dragon. Hiccup and Astrid rushed to help but a warning hiss from Spitfire stopped them in their tracks. Hiccup glanced over at his own Night Fury, surprised he wasn't getting involved. Usually if there was any threat to Hiccup, be it large or small, Toothless would always have interfered in one way or another. Instead, the male Night Fury sat there, staring from Alani and Spitfire to Hookfang who was standing in a corner looking ashamed of himself.

"Its ok girl, I'm fine," the red-head calmed her dragon by petting her soothingly on the head. The dragon's hissing soon turned to concerned grumbles as Spitfire walked around Alani inspecting her from head to toe for any damage. Seeing none, the dragon happily nudged her rider and purred. Alani laughed. In his head, Hiccup could practically see the gears in his head whirring before it clicked. Female dragon, mothering instinct. Spitfire was only protecting her 'hatchling', Alani. He let out a breath of a laugh.

"Hey are you ok?" Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut asked. Alani nodded and dusted herself off.

"Bad dragon! Very bad dragon!" Snotlout yelled at Hookfang who stared past his rider at Spitfire and Alani.

"Snotlout, don't be like that. Can't you see he's already regretting what he did?" Fishlegs shouted at the Nightmare's rider. Snotlout was about to say something when he noticed the way his dragon slumped sadly. Hookfang was indeed regretting his outburst that almost injured the little red one. Sighing, Snotlout reached up and grabbed the Nightmare's head and pet him gently.

"Don't do that again ya'hear?" he scolded softly. Hookfang grumbled and lifted his rider into the air with a sound that almost sound like laughter. The group smiled at the dragon and rider. Astrid cleared her throat and directed Alani to the two-headed dragon bickering with itself.

"Last but not least, this is Barf and Belch, the twins' dragons. Don't ask me which head is which, I can't tell them apart," Astrid chuckled lightly as Ruffnut literally dragged Tuffnut away from the wall he was leaning against, dropping him to the floor when she reached her dragon.

"The left head is Belch, and the right one is Barf!" she exclaimed proudly, patting 'Belch' on the neck. Tuffnut jumped up from where his sister had dropped him scowling.

"That's not it! The left head is Barf, the right side is Belch!" he corrected smugly. Astrid steered Alani away from the bickering siblings before she unwillingly became part of the struggle. Barf and Belch watched amusedly, bickering playfully with one another. If there was anyone with a dragon that suited them, the twins and their dragon would definitely take the cake.

"So where are you from anyway?" Astrid asked, sitting across from the crimson-haired rider leaning against the wall. The group had been sitting on the sidelines watching their dragons mingle and chatter with each other, getting to know the newest member, Spitfire. Except for the twins; they were still rolling around on the ground screaming obscenities at each other that would have left a sailor blushing like a love-struck school girl.

"From the South. It's beautiful from what I remember of it. A lot warmer too," she grinned jokingly. The twins pushed their way into the circle. It looked as if they'd stopped fighting on their own terms but judging by the ring of shallow teeth marks lining their torsos, Barf and Belch probably had something to do with it. But hey, progress was progress.

"What about your village?" Ruffnut asked, oblivious to the way Alani tensed up.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to you know," Hiccup reassured. Alani smiled and shook her head.

"It's ok, I'm fine. My village was fairly large. A little bigger than this one actually. Very bright; there was always one festival or another going on," she smiled at the memories; "the villagers would wear bright, colorful clothing and dance and sing," Alani grinned. The gang tried imagining a place like that.

"The men of marriageable age would do everything they could to impress and woo the women. They would do acrobatics, complicated dances and even breathe fire – n-not the way dragons do!" she stammered hastily, "it only made you spew fire like a dragon. Those men were always engaged the next day," she grinned sheepishly. The boys stared at her wide-eyed and gawking. Men that breathed fire!

"How'd they do that?!" Tuffnut and Snotlout scooted closer, not willing to miss a thing as cool as this.

"Well as far as I know, there was this special water that was highly flammable. The men would take a mouthful of the water and spray a fine mist before lighting it. Dragon's fire!" she shifted nervously under the looks the two boys was giving her.

"She's not gonna teach you that," Astrid spoke up as the boys immediately began protesting loudly. Alani sighed relieved that she wouldn't have to teach someone that.

"Besides I don't even know how to do it. It was only the men who learned it to impress the women during courting season," Alani added, earning herself groans of disappointments from the boys.

"Wait so the men have to impress the women? Or else they won't get a girl?" Snotlout scoffed.

"No arranged marriages?" Astrid asked. That's was not something she'd ever heard of. Alani nodded. Hiccup frowned, deep in thought.

"So basically it's like nature?" Fishlegs asked.

Alani nodded again smiling. Snotlout, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, Hiccup and Astrid looked at Fishlegs confused.

"Well, just by observing our dragons it's the same way," Fishlegs spoke up, "The males will do a bunch of cool and dangerous things to get a females attention. Seriously, do you guys pay any attention to your dragons?"

"No. That's what we have you for isn't it?" Tuffnut answered sarcastically.

Hiccup stepped in before a fight could break out, again.

"Wow that's really something Alani!" he called loudly getting everyone's attention, "Whaddaya say to going flying?" he clapped his hands eagerly and cheers broke out.