Toothless woke, hanging upside down from a tree. He spotted Hiccup sitting on the other side of the cove, sketching in the sat with him, observing the sketch of Toothless. Hiccup drew with a stick, minding his own business. Toothless appeared behind him, watching carefully. Aware of his presence, Hiccup continued, trying not to scare him off. Toothless walked off. A moment later, he reappeared with an entire sapling, drawing lines in the sand. He rushed here and there, making haphazard lines in every direction. Finally, Toothless dropped the tree and inspected his work. He seemed pleased.

Hiccup stood and took in the sprawling scribble, amazed by it. He accidentally stepped onto one of the lines, eliciting an instant growl from Toothless. He stepped on it again. Toothless growled again. Realizing how sensitive he was, Hiccup stepped carefully between each line, turning round and round until he unwittingly bumped into Kara. Toothless snorted. Hiccup turned. Once again, they were face to face. Hiccup slowly extended his hand. Toothless hesitated. Hiccup turned his head away and closed his eyes. To his amazement, Toothless bridged the gap and pressed his muzzle against Hiccup's hand. In a flash, the dragon was gone, leaving Hiccup astounded.

Gobber and the recruits were seated at the top of an abandoned catapult tower, toasting campfire food around a roaring bonfire.

"...and with one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face. Can't deny it, I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg." Gobber said.

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon. Like if your mind was still in control of it you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing his heart or something." Fishlegs said.

"I swear I'm so angry right now. I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight, with my face." Snotlout said. He postured to Astrid. She rolled her eyes.

"Un-unh. It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." Gobber said. Hiccup hid his horrified look from the others. Gobber stood and stretched. "Alright. I'm off to bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get into the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?"

"It's gonna be me. It's my destiny. See?" Tuffnut rolled up his sleeve to reveal a red dragon on his arm.

"Your mom let you get a tattoo?" Fishlegs gasped.

"It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark." Tuff said.

"Okay, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before." Ruff said.

"Yes it was. You've just never seen me from the left side until now." Tuff said.

"It wasn't there yesterday. Is it a birthmark or a today-mark?" Snotlout said. Kara noticed Hiccup leave, and she noticed Astrid notice Hiccup leave.

"It's not a tattoo!" Tuff said.

"That's definitely a tattoo. I have tattoo's myself, I know one when I see one." Kara said.

"Whoa, you have a tattoo?!" Fishlegs said.

"Multiple." Kara said. She gestured to her stomach and shoulders.

"When did you get those?" Snotlout asked, reaching to poke her stomach tattoo in awe. She slapped his hand away.

"I've always had them. You never noticed?" She asked. They shook their heads. "That just goes to show your observational skills. I'm heading home."

Kara walked towards the hidden cove in search of Hiccup. She heard yelling, then a huge splash. She ran and found Hiccup and Toothless in the lake, laughing. Kara leapt the rocks and ran over.

"Hiccup?!" She said. He looked to her with a grin.

"Hey Kara! What's up?" He beamed. She smiled with a laugh. She noticed the eel next to her and hissed, leaping away. She neared the dragon and the boy and shook her head with a laugh.

"Do you need help out?" She asked. Hiccup extended a hand and Kara grabbed it... only to be pulled into the water. She resurfaced and busted out laughing. She splashed Hiccup who blocked the splash. Toothless batted his wings and doused the both of them, who laughed even harder. They calmed and stared at each other. Then Kara looked away, blushing. "C'mon, we have practice today."

"Today is about teamwork. Work together and you might survive." Kara called. She turned to Gobber. "Hey, mind if I take the day off?"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just really tired." She said. He nodded and shooed her off. Kara ran off. Once alone, she shifted to become her dragon half and took off with a cry. The cry wasn't necessary, but she knew it would freak the students out.

Kara curled up in the hidden cove. Toothless paid her no mind, in fact, he seemed to enjoy her company. They kept to themselves mostly. Kara shifted back at one point and walked to Toothless. He sniffed her hand, and recognized her. She sat next to him and leaned against his side. She sighed and Toothless grumbled.

"You said it, Tooth." She said. She talked to the dragon for awhile, mostly just venting. Her eyes drifted shut and she fell asleep.

Hiccup entered the cove with a new tail fin for Toothless, and was surprised to find Toothless randomly laying on the ground with his wings curled around him. Toothless looked up and moved his wings to reveal that he was huddled around Kara. She was fast asleep, a peaceful look upon her face. Hiccup placed the fin contraption on the ground and cautiously moved forward. He knelt next to Kara and looked over her face. There was a tiny smile on her face, and Hiccup smoothed a strand of hair from her face. Toothless grunted.

"Huh?" Hiccup said. Toothless looked to Hiccup's stick drawing, then to Kara, then to Hiccup. "Draw her? Why would I-"

Toothless looked him in the eye. Hiccup was surprised. Did the dragon know something?

-Earlier-

"I just don't get it, Tooth." Kara said. The Night Fury grunted.

"Hiccup acts like we're best friends one second, then gives me the cold shoulder whenever Astrid is around. I mean, why does he like her so much? Sure, she's cute, but she's a complete beiskaldi(1) to him." Toothless grunted again. Kara blushed. "I don't like him! We're best friends, and... you're right."

Toothless grumbled and Kara rolled her eyes.

"Dragon mating rituals don't work with humans, Tooth." He grumbled. "No, I haven't told him about my... condition. I mean, he saved you, but I'm a Banshee, and I lied to him."

Tooth huffed and grumbled. Kara stared at him.

"I don't think if I told him that he'd welcome that so openly. I mean, have you read what they say about Banshee's? I'm nothing but a cold-hearted killer." Toothless grumbled for almost a minute straight. Kara looked miserable. "I don't know if I should tell him."

Toothless growled, almost threateningly. Kara closed her eyes.

"It's the only thing I can do: Lie. I'm not proud of it, but I need to. Think of what Stoick would do to me! Gobber, the students, the vikings... they'll all try to kill me." Tooth almost hummed. Kara smiled with an amused huff. "You're right. Hiccup won't."

Tooth grunted hopefully. Kara shifted to get more comfortable.

"Fine, fine, I'll do something. Happy?" Tooth grunted.

"What do you know?" Hiccup wondered.

1: Bitch