-Chapter: XIII|II-

-Offensively Defend -Answers-

`There are few things more troublesome than an unanswered question. Be it what fish one likes, the preferred colour of choice, the choice in weaponry; few things leave such an itch as an unanswered question. The dream where the Night Fury spoke to me, was a dream that left a very great itch. That dragon left me with far too many questions, with no answers. There must be an answer to every question, otherwise it isn't a question, just predicament...

The sun was already down with Hiccup busy toiling in the back room of the forge. He saw how difficult it was to hold himself to Toothless' tail, so he made to working on a saddle that he could sit upon more comfortably. It was sturdy, lightweight, and held up well. He would have to take it to him the next day though because the sun was disappearing into the horizon, leaving the forest an impossibly dark place to navigate, even with a lantern.

He set his completed saddle under a table and set himself for his home overlooking the village. He passed a few people, mostly night watchmen. It had been just over a week since the last dragon raid, but even with their somewhat consistent pattern, none would let a guard take leave. The shifts cycles, close to none usually the night after, a few more a week after, and close to a dozen or so well into a month after each raid. Never in recorded history on Berk has a gap between raids lasted over two months.

The passing guard grunted in greeting as Hiccup passed by. The faint torch-light fading away as the man rounded a corner and disappeared. Even the watchmen regarded Hiccup without even a word.

His home was quiet. Ashes shifted across the room as a chilling wind blew in from the opened door. Hiccup closed off the cold and worked his way to the log-room. It was hard, maneuvering in the dim light, but there was still a faint outline of his surroundings to work off. Getting the fire started was tiresome; normally the embers from the preceding fire catalyzed the next, but when the cold choked out any life and the caretaker was busy camping out with dragons, the fires tended to die out. His light hands grew cold soon but the new flames helped ease life back into them. The day was rough, his body felt weak, and all he wanted was to sleep. None of that would allow his mind to rest however, as he collected his thoughts on the days events, whilst laying on a comfortable bench.

"Hold your ground. Push them back." The words looped inside his head, repeating and repeating. They were loud and clear, as though spoken in his ear. Their tone was precise, and sure. An order as it were. His eyes cleared on the flames as he repeated the order in his head.

Firelight flickered in the depths of his black pupils as he stared into the flames.

"Hold your ground! Push them back!" They were louder this time, with more force than a physical shout.

"Hold your ground!-" Hiccup tensed up.

"Push them back!-" Hiccups heart skipped a beat as the flames blew back down into the logs, dwindling into tiny candle-like, flickering flames. The air surrounding the pit churned and heaved, ashes and smoke billowing out of the pit in a cauldron of raw chaos. The last shard of light danced across Hiccups choked face as he fell to the hearth, smoke and ash swirling around him as the fire grew back up as Hiccup fell into unconsciousness...

Hiccups chest heaved as he breathed in a cold wind. The world around him was quiet, save for a few drops of water that would sound out with a loud splash. He lifted his back, supporting himself with his elbows, taking in the scene around him. He was laying on frost covered grass, lining the shore of the pond that sat within the gorge where he spent afternoons with Toothless. His first thoughts should have been of shock for having moved from his home, but he recalled the earlier time he woke up in a strange place.

He put himself on his feet, feeling the slight crunch of the frozen blades of grass as he shivered under the cold air that surrounded him. A dream could only explain the sudden change in weather as it was late Summer at Berk. Snow, ice and frost were not due for a few more months.

He shook up and down as he spied the snow-covered tree tops surrounding him and the icy pond. The gorge acted somewhat as a barrier for the cold, keeping some heat locked in. This was not like the last time. Last time he was on a warm hill, looking out over a glistening sea. Now. Now he was cold and shivering. Numbness licked his fingers as he frantically searched for somewhere to hide from the cold.

His eyes caught on a faint light emanating from behind a pile of boulders. He moved towards the orange glow, picking up pace as it may have meant a fire, and a fire meant warmth. His feet stumbled every second pace as he reached for the turn of the large stones. The light was coming from deeper in. Hiccup shuffled past rock after rock, turning this way and that for what seemed like an eternity until he was nearly blasted back by the sudden light and warmth as he cornered into a large cavern. It opened out to a rather massive depth and width, stretching out into the stone at an impressive length, with a trickling pool glistening in the firelight.

Hiccup felt relieved as he took in the warmth, his hands and feet returning to him as his core temperature relaxed. There was a somewhat large fire erected nearby the pool edge, settled into a sandy patch of ground. He spread his in-existent width beside the fire, soaking in the wonderful heat that fell on his chest and limbs. He didn't bother thinking why there was a fire here, or why he was here, all that mattered was that he didn't go back out into the cold.

There was a confident pile of dry tinder nearby that Hiccup used to feed the flames when it seemed to dip down in energy. The removal of the cold allowed him to think over his being here, in this strange place. He looked around, the walls were smooth, aged with time. A definitive path lead from the cave entrance down to the inner sanctum. This was no wooden house, but on all honesty he felt like he could live here. It was safe, protected, and the elements outside didn't affect the inside. A bonus was it being naturally fire-proof.

He had taken to exploring the crevices of the cave after the air seemed to warm. There was a passage about 10 meters to the left of the entrance, passing into an impossibly dark area that he could not explore. The pool at its widest point was about 30 feet, with a depth in the center being around two fathoms*. The clear water reflected both the bottom and top of the cave; rippling shadows danced across all the walls with an orange hue, making it difficult to pin-point where the light originated from. Surrounding the pool, save for about 10 feet on one side, was a grey sand that flowed down into the depth, covering the entire span. The 10 foot section was lipped by a rocky over hang that had a light stream of water dripping down from a crack in the ceiling. The overhang jutted out about a foot, catching the light in a net of glossy rock surfaces that caused the light to bounce infinitely.

Behind the pool, opposite the entrance was a large pillar of rock that connected with the floor and ceiling. Water was condensing on the surface of this pillar, leaving streaks as droplets collected at a small pool of pebbles at the base. The fire itself was about five feet from the wet sand. Another 10 feet from the fire was a large pile of firewood.

"Well, this is all nice and dandy." Hiccup joked to himself. If this wasn't a dream, he would be ecstatic for having found such a beautiful place; but this was a dream. He couldn't wish for a more livable cave, but this was too perfect to be true. The pre-made fire also brought to mind questions of who had light it.

"Hello?"

He called out, his voice echoing down the black corridor before bouncing back to him. His voice continued to reverberate off the smooth walls for a minute or so before it quieted down to its earlier level. Hiccup felt defeated. He fell down to his bottom and crossed his legs next to the water, staring into the aqua mirror. He had hoped he would meet the Night Fury again, much like he did last time he was here. He was here before, maybe not this place, but this dream place at that. It was the grassy knoll. A smooth slope down to a rocky beach, and glistening waves. He had met his friend there, he had left with far too many unanswered questions.

"Do you have some need to shout?" A slow voice rolled out the black doorway. The liquid voice glided off the smooth walls like a porpoise skipping waves. Hiccup jumped at the sudden voice, but calmed down as he recognized it.

"Toothless?" He questioned the faceless voice, hoping he might get an answer.

"There is no need to shout. This place carries ones tongue quickly, and my ears are far better than you may realize." With that, a black dragon head and body emerged out of the darkness, warned only by yellow eyes that shone in the abyss of pitch. This dragon was most clearly Toothless. The halved tail-fin spoke as much.

"It is you!" Hiccup got himself up and ran over to hug his friends massive neck, barely managing to get his arms to hold to the smooth scales. He nestled his head into his friends chest, listening to his steady heartbeat as he pushed himself in. Toothless was the only being that Hiccup felt comfortable being close too. He accepted him, especially when he showed himself true.

"It's good to see you too." Toothless replied as Hiccup pulled away, a cheesy grin smeared across his lips. "You came for answers." Toothless spoke quickly as he strode over to the water's edge, peering into the depths with his glassy eyes.

Hiccup moved himself beside him and sat down cross-legged. It was his method of showing it was talking time.

"Well, I didn't exactly come here by choice." He looked up at his friend who had not moved from the water,

"Where exactly, is here?" He emphasized the questioning aspect of where they were. All he knew, he was in a dream, on Berk, in the Winter season, in a perfect cave home, with a perfect friend. His life was ever far from perfect.

Toothless didn't shift his gaze as he spoke, "Where are we? That is difficult to say."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, for me to say where we are, would need me to know where we are."

"Wait, you mean you don't know where we are?"

"You had your expectations for answers I see."

Hiccup flinched slightly at the remark. It was true, he missed his friend but he also wanted to get some answers about all this.

"To say it simply, we are in what you might call a dream." Toothless started to edge away from the water. Hiccup eased up to him, eager to hear more even if he already knew it. Anything coming from Toothless would be good at this point.

"To some, this place is more. It is an entire world as it were, much like your own." Hiccup interrupted with his ever-present curiosity, "What do you mean, 'like my world'? I-"

"What do you refer to your world as?" Toothless inquired.

"It's Middle Earth*. Why?" Hiccup answered flatly.

"Well, Hiccup-" It felt strange to Hiccup being called his name by the dragon, "this place" Toothless raised a paw and gestured to the cave and the exit, "This place is much like 'Middle Earth', only a small portion of it. It is a portion of your own mind, with mine shared."

Hiccup pulled his most confused face he could manage without resorting to words.

"Simply put, this is a dream, in which you know it's a dream." Toothless slowed his tongue, gaping his messages for the boy to take in and comprehend.

"This dream, is affected by you and what is going on." Hiccup nodded.

"If your body is cold when it comes here, this place will be cold. If you are warm, then this place will be warm. If you are in a state of chaos and disorder when you come here, this place will be chaotic and disorderly. Understand?" Toothless eyed the boy as he slowly started nodding. "Good."

Toothless then began pacing himself around the pools edge, speaking out when it was right, "This place, this 'dream' is more than just that."

He turned to Hiccup, "We share this place, together. Through our bond, we share both our minds, and souls. This allows us to share in each others dreams and deep thoughts." Hiccup looked perplexed yet somehow understanding at the last part. Then Toothless asked about his moment in the ring with the 'Zippleback.

"What moment?" Hiccup was a bit taken back at the sudden change in subject.

"When you stood your ground, and pushed them back."

Those same words, that same message. It all came back to him, the moment where he felt otherworldly and felt the essence of what was around him.

"Good, you do. I may have helped you then, but I don't need to take the credit for your incredible skill in handling it." Toothless gave a slight grin as Hiccups face looked blank as he stared dumbly at the wall.

"You- You gave me that message?" He stuttered as he realized what Toothless did.

"What I did, was give you the understanding and position to be at that moment. You are the one who stood your ground and pushed them back." Toothless looked pleased with himself.

Hiccup felt even more defeated now. He had expected answers but each answer seemed to spawn even more questions than he started with.

"Why do my visits always end up with me being confused?" He asked specifically not to Toothless. At the moment, the rock wall could be more understanding than the unapproachable dragon that gave more cryptic answers than a drunken Soothsayer.

"Perhaps you see them in a different light than is needed."

"Again, with the cryptic tone. It's not helping..." Hiccup slouched down, letting his shoulders sag as he gave a long sigh.

"Walk with me." Toothless stood himself beside the boy, motioning him to get up. Hiccup obliged and moved to his feet, steadying himself as Toothless led the way out the rocks.

"Wait, outside; but it's freezing out there!" Hiccup froze in place as Toothless got to the exit.

"You worry too much, you know that?" Toothless smirked at the young boys expression. "It's fine, just walk with me." Hiccup continued back with his pace, moving beside his large companion.

As Hiccup moved between the stones, he could feel the change immediately. The air had no more of the bitter bite it had. Frost was replaced with dew. Green and gold leaves replaced the icy snow that covered the tree tops. The entire outside world had changed from bitter cold, to modestly pleasant in so short a time. Hiccup was astounded, even if he felt the cave was safer.

Toothless had moved beside the now liquid pond, gesturing for Hiccup to move beside him. "Not so cold now is it?" Toothless crooned at the boy, who was still nervous that a sudden freeze might fall upon him.

"It was frozen, all over. The sky was grey with cold. Frost and ice covered everything..." Hiccup mumbled to himself, still in awe at the change in scenery. He was slowly moving beside Toothless as he grumbled to himself. Hiccup sat beside the dragon, who looked as much in deep thought as any dragon could make it look like.

"You look like you're deep in thought." Hiccup spoke quietly, not to disturb his friend.

"How do I explain this." Toothless looked from the pond to the boy. "You are special, Hiccup."

"What could possibly give you that idea?" Hiccup joked at the obviousness at the words. He irked at the collected manner the dragon had. "Toothless?" The dragon huffed, "How can you be so-" His mind stopped to find the right word.

"-accepting?" Toothless finished his broken thought. Hiccup looked up as he spoke it. "To me? To accept me? To accept what I did to you!" He raised his voice slightly in frustration. Nothing seemed right or understandable. He was friends with a dragon, he was sharing a dream with a dragon. He was helping a dragon gain back his flight.

"I-" He stammered in spite. "I took away you flight! Your freedom! How are you so accepting of what I did to you!"

Toothless shifted his gaze to the pond, watching as the waters slowly swirled around.

"Hiccup-" He was cut off again as the boy in question started again.

"Why can't things be understandable! Why must I suddenly be thrown into this world that I know nothing about! Why me! Why must I be like this? Why can't I just enjoy the friendship I share with you? Everything I am doing is completely unprecedented. I would be cast out or deemed a traitor if my people found about us..." His voice failed as he broke down into the grass, collapsing to his knees.

Toothless was busy watching as the water slowly churned and boiled in the center. Wisps of steam swirled in the air as Hiccup stared into the dirt, tears falling from his face.

"I can never escape it. I will never escape the feeling in my heart as the days turn on. My difference is like a sickness, both invigorating and deathly."

Toothless eyed the receding vapours meaningfully, eyes full of intrigue.

"There are some words I've known since my first days as a hatchling." Toothless eyes didn't budge from their position. Hiccup gave no sign of attention.

"With every push, comes a pull. With every Night, comes a Day. Dusk dances with Dawn. Life dances with Death. Right and Wrong, push and pull. Life and Death."

Hiccup looked up at the strange being questioningly. Toothless looked back at him.

"Every force in the world, is opposed by something equal. All forces, all energies are locked in an eternal dance with each other." Toothless paused for a moment, to put it into simpler words.

"No matter how hard you push, the world pushes back. You-" Toothless prodded Hiccup's chest with his snout, "-you, may only cope by finding a way to let the world push with you, not against you."

Hiccup looked positively flabbergasted at the message. Toothless turned his gaze to the once calm pond and the steamy wisps.

"We all share a connection with the world. Every essence of existence is tied together. That connection is stronger in our dreams, but it is still present everywhere else."

Toothless started padding towards the water, slowly sinking into the depths; disappearing from sight. "What are you doing?" Hiccup called out at his friends strange behaviour.

"Perhaps you are ready." A voice called out to his head. "Tomorrow?"

Hiccup asked what he meant. "We shall start tomorrow." With that, a blinding white light engulfed Hiccup, tearing the ground away from his feet and hands...

The whiteness was unbearable, until he felt his face pressed up against a hard flat surface.

He slowly creaked open his eyes as he adjusted his posture more comfortably. He found himself back in his wooden house, with his face having been planted against a hard stone surface, flames of a modest fire tickled him with modest comfort.

'...If your body is cold when it comes here, this place will be cold. If you are warm, then this place will be warm...' Hiccup thought back to what he had said. If was going to make a habit of going to this half-dream, half-Middle Earth place thing, then he should at least be a bit more comfortable when doing so. Perhaps he could entice this place to come and take him. Toothless said he would talk about it tomorrow, when he was ready. He didn't think he would ever be ready for having a nice understandable conversation with a Night Fury friend/spirit brother.

Hiccup leaned back on a wooden bench, stoking the ashes with a poker. He lifted lazily at a half-burnt log as he turned it over. Ash sprinkled down as the log fell into place. The sound of a group of men from outside laughing and shouting with each other rolled through the walls. Some people have simpler lives, most definitely. Hiccup sighed as he rested against the back of the bench.

"Things are not going to get simple, are they."He called out to himself, letting a more restful sleep take over his head...

*fathom* = One fathom is equal to the average distance between a mans outstretched arms, yielding approximately 1.5 yards or 4.5 - 5 feet. Fathoms are units of measurement ONLY used for water.

*Middle Earth* = Midgard (realm of Humans in Norse Mythology) is (roughly) translated to 'Middle Earth'.