AN: Heres next chapter! Or… second half of the last chapter… Mmmm… I'm pleased no one really minded my plot point! Enjoy!

.

.

"You don't have a blacksmith?" Hiccup asked in disbelief. He and Joanna were sitting across from each other in the dining hall. It wasn't as big as the one in Berk, but it was much more open, with many windows that could be covered when the weather worsened. The people there had all greeted them excitedly when they'd arrived, asking a few questions before with some silent agreement, they all backed off to give him space. So after they got their food he decided to ask some questions of his own, which had lead to his statement. He understood that they didn't use weapons for fighting, but what about for hunting, or other metal things that were used around the house or…?

"We've never needed one." The leader of the peaceful village replied, taking a careful sip of something he'd never had before, and left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. "We trade with that other village over there." She pointed in the direction of the other island. "But it sounds exciting! How long have you been a blacksmith?"

Hiccup took a bite of his chicken. Joanna had rushed out somewhere and returned with a much lighter outfit that fit almost perfectly. She said it was a welcoming gift, and with how hot it was Hiccup was more then happy to accept it. "I'm not a blacksmith yet." He corrected. "I'm just an apprentice. But I've been there since I was little."

"How exciting!" The women repeated warmly.

Hiccup nodded. Exciting wasn't how he would put it, but he had become rather fond of the job. She began talking about the trade agreement between the islands, but Hiccup was only barely paying attention. They had been away from their dragons for quite a while now, but he wasn't really sure what was going on. The only thing he could feel through the bond was a steady flow of love for him, and the assurance that the activity meant nothing. Hiccup didn't need that, but it made him happy.

When there was a break in the conversation Hiccup brought up the dragons again. "You know this is the first village I've been too that trains dragons. All of the others had to be taught that they were friendly."

She flushed proudly at that. "Well, we had always paid homage to dragons. From long before my time. We used to leave offerings for them every night." She was overly cautious and neat as she ate. "We have always tried to please them, and we must have done something right, because about three years ago a couple of them decided to live among us."

'That must have been right after Toothless and I defeated the queen.' Hiccup mused. 'He was right. The dragons that were fond of these people came here.' He grabbed his cup, taking a sip of the strange stuff. He was sure it was some kind of alcohol, but it certainly didn't taste any good.

"But what I've never seen is something like you; Riding a dragon."

Hiccup nearly choked on the liquid he'd been trying to swallow, and ended up coughing. Someone stopped behind him to pat his back until he stopped. "Wait-!" He gasped. "You've had dragons here for three years and no one here has flown?" He couldn't believe it.

"Well, of course." She said, but no longer looked quite as confident. "I… I thought it would be wrong. To treat them like they were beasts of burden. We don't want to offend them, and have them leave us."

Hiccup shook his head. There was nothing a dragon enjoyed more then flying, except, maybe, flying with a human that they favored. "You've got the wrong impression."

"I believe we do. After all you ride with your mate."

He nodded. "If Toothless and I stay long enough, I'll help you out. It isn't really difficult."

'We will be here long enough for that.' Came Toothless in his head.

Hiccup smiled. 'Are you done then? Where are you?' The reply was an image of Toothless curled up in front of the eating hall. 'You didn't stop thinking about me.'

There was more love.

…

The two weeks that they spent in the village went by easily. Hiccup spent a lot of time working with the people there, teaching them how to fly. They didn't adapt to it like the people of Berk had. The Vikings charged any task without fear, and weren't put off if they fell off a couple of times. The people of Garvanisha however were hesitant at best and outright terrified at worst. No one got back on if they fell while in the air, even though none of them fell far, or if they did; their dragons had plenty of time to catch them.

But he did manage to get quite a few people comfortable with it. When he wasn't doing that, he flew over to the other island, and taught the blacksmith there his saddle designs, and together they made ones that would work for the dragons in that area. Hiccup kept track of things that he learned about the new dragons in a small book to add to the Dragon Guide when he got home.

Toothless was as cuddly as ever, and even slightly possessive when Hiccup was hit on by the village girls. Hiccup knew he was doing it as a way of comforting him, and found it incredibly amusing. The girls, less so.

Green Grass maintained the Night Fury form, something required for the little ones to develop properly. Hiccup got along with her well enough and was thoroughly pleased that she had no interest in Toothless or the babies after her part was over with.

After sixteen days in the village, Hiccup was woken up by a warm tongue lapping at his face. He opened his eyes to find Toothless smiling down at him.

"Morning Toothless." He muttered, sitting up and stretching. The village didn't have any place as comfortable as their cave back home, so he had opted to stay with Joanna, in one of her spare rooms.

The dragon growled happily his greeting, filling Hiccups head with pictures of large black eggs resting in front of the fire place downstairs.

"Eggs?" Hiccup asked, trying to repress a yawn, his head still fuzzy from waking. "What about-?" His eyes widened excitedly. "Are they here!" He threw off the thin cover and jumped up, forgetting about his prosthetic and falling on Toothless for the hundredth time. "Thanks Buddy." He got dressed and attached the metal leg.

No one else was awake, as usual, so Hiccup was quiet as he hurried down the stairs. The fireplace (which Hiccup couldn't understand for the life of him. It was hotter than dragon fire there and they wanted it hotter?) was at full blaze, lighting the room with yellow and orange. That was the only good use for it because the sun wasn't quite up yet. In the one visible corner of the room he could see a unfamiliar green dragon, that he assumed was GreenGrass, in the corner sleeping off the birth.

Bracing himself Hiccup took a breath and leaned around the stair wall. The sight of two dozen black eggs made his heart race with happiness. "They are here…"

Toothless laughed his dragon laugh as Hiccup carefully knelt by the pile, not touching them. "There are so many…" He instantly knew there were twenty-two through the bond. Not quite two dozen. "Are they all dragons?" Some dragons had more eggs then hatchlings. The Terrible Terror laid over a hundred, but fewer than ten hatched.

Toothless shook his head. There had been two siblings he'd hatched with.

Hiccup reached out slowly, giving Toothless plenty of time to stop him, and touched one of them. It was softer then silk and really warm. "They feel so fragile. Do you know which ones are the fakes?"

Toothless shook his head, and rolled one of the eggs with his paws. Hiccup inhaled sharply. 'Dragon eggs are strong.' He rolled it to Hiccup. It would take a lot to harm the unborn dragons.

Hiccup lifted it, still carefully, and placed it in his lap. The shell was completely black, and there weren't any nicks or scratches from being rolled across the floor. They were all about the size of bread loaves. "This is amazing…" He whispered. He held it close, knowing that a little Toothless could be inside. "How are we going to care for them? Do they need a nest? Do they need to stay with their mother?"

Toothless quickly explained that male Night Fury's both made the nest, and protected the eggs until they hatched. Toothless intended to make the nest back in their cave, once Hiccup was prepared to leave.

Hiccup kissed him. "Of course. We'll leave right away."

By the time Joanna woke up Hiccup had gotten his stuff together and was carefully loading the eggs into the basket he'd brought. He was using the blankets Toothless had advised him bring as both insulators and to keep the precious objects from knocking against each other.

"Are you leaving?" She asked when she spotted him, her voice rather alarmed.

"Yep." He answered, folding the last blanket over the top then closing it and tying it tight. "I want to get these into a nest as soon as possible. And we're going to fly low and slow to keep them from getting too cold."

She looked disappointed, watching him as he saddled his dragon, and thanked her for her hospitality. He told her he had liked it there, and she grabbed his arm. "Then stay."

Hiccup blinked looking at him. "Huh?"

"Stay. Here with us." She smiled. "You said that you don't fit in at home. That you don't understand their violent nature. You fit in here. We don't think anything about you is strange. Make your nest here. You could become the blacksmith our village needs. And you're such a fine dragon trainer. You have so much you could teach us. Won't you remain here?"

Hiccup stared. 'Stay? Here?' The village was peaceful, and the people revered him as some great thing. He could have a comfortable future there.

But it wasn't home. He belonged with his people, and Toothless agreed. "Thank you for the offer. But I belong in Berk. With Toothless and my father." He pulled the basket onto his back and stood up. 'That's not too bad…' He thought testing the weight. It wouldn't be a problem as long as they stopped a couple of times.

The women looked even more disappointed, but not entirely surprised. "I understand. But you… you will come back to visit us, wont you?"

"Promise." He said following Toothless outside. The dragon stretched and lowered his shoulder to make it easier for Hiccup to climb up. His foot clicked into the lever for the pseudo-tail. Joanna smiled at him sadly, and waved.

Hiccup waved back, then rubbed his Mates neck. "Come on Bud. Let's go home."

Toothless let out a pleasured growl and shot into the air.

….

It took three more days to return to Berk then it had to reach their destination the first time. The delay was because they had to stay as close to the water as possible, and the breaks Hiccup had to take. They stopped at whatever land masses they passed, and at night Toothless wrapped Hiccup and the basket in his wings to keep them toasty.

"We should arrive there in another hour or so, right?" He asked as Toothless lazily dipped his claws in the water. Hiccup worried about the eggs, which he assumed was normal. Most parents seemed to be rather protective of their very young children. Although the Vikings had an interesting view on what was 'safe'. His father had encouraged him to play with his weapons as an infant. Toothless continually assured him they were fine, and he believed him, but he couldn't help worrying.

Toothless laughed again. He'd been in an extremely good mood since the eggs had come. They were safe, and that nagging feeling of uncertainty his Mate had been feeling had disappeared the moment he'd laid eyes on them. On top of that they were almost home.

'An hour.' He confirmed, flapping gently.

Hiccup sighed, looking over the water. He couldn't see the island yet, but it wouldn't take too much longer. Something moved over the water not too far from them, and Hiccup leaned forward trying to see it better. "What is that…?" He wondered out loud.

There was a soft click as Hiccup changed courses. Toothless let out a confused sound, but started towards the thing. "Let's go up a little." Hiccup muttered, leaning back. They ascended into the clouds.

It was a Viking ship. A big one, for really long travels. It had different colors then the ones in Berk, but Hiccup knew he recognized it from somewhere. They stayed far enough to not be noticed, which meant he couldn't make out any of the people aboard. But whatever it was for, it was giving him a bad feeling. A really bad feeling.

"I don't like this…" Hiccup whispered.

Toothless responded to his Mates concern by shooting full speed towards Berk.

.

.

See! Goodbye random village, hello creepy boat of DOOM! What do YOU think is going on? Comment if you want to find out!

HtTYD © Not me.